• European Investment Bank chief says bank cannot invest in Iran
BRUSSELS – The head of the European Investment Bank said on Wednesday he supported the European Union’s efforts to keep alive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran but warned that lending to Tehran could undermine the bank.
“There is no European bank which is presently able to do business in and with Iran,” said Werner Hoyer, the president of the EIB, the European Union’s not-for-profit long term investment arm, told a news conference.
“We have to take note of the fact that we would risk the business model of the bank if we were active in Iran.”
Source: Reuters
• Japan halts imports of oil from Iran
TOKYO, July 19. Japanese oil companies are preparing for a complete cessation of oil imports from Iran, Japan’s leading business newspaper Nikkei reported on Thursday.
According to the newspaper, oil supplies from Iran should be completely stopped by October. Alternative suppliers include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Japanese suppliers of Iranian oil – JXTG Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan – received a warning from the US about the need to completely stop imports by November 4, 2018, when Washington plans to resume sanctions against Tehran. If the purchases of Iranian oil continue, the US threatens to impose penalties on these companies.
• European Investment Bank Casts Doubt On EU Plan to Salvage Nuclear Deal
The European Investment Bank would put its global operations at risk by investing in Iran, its president said on Wednesday, calling into question an EU plan to help save a nuclear deal with Tehran that Washington has abandoned.
EIB President Werner Hoyer said that while he supported EU efforts to keep alive the 2015 deal which curbed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Iran is a place “where we cannot play an active role.”
• Iran Builds New Centrifuge Rotor Factory
Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work.
The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal from the pact.
• Protest of Taxi Drivers and Blocking Streets in Iranian Kurdistan
On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, the taxi drivers of Baneh, Iran gathered in front of the governorate of the city and blocked the street in protest of being fined on the pretext that they do not have an exit card from the traffic agency.
Taxi drivers and people inside the city of Baneh face very serious problems, such as the lack of taxi stations, the lack of interurban buses, and disorderly traffic congestions.
• Protest by Unemployed People and Youth
On Tuesday night, July 17, 2018, a crowd of people and the unemployed youth in Hoveyzeh, Khuzestan Province of Iran, gathered around the Governor’s building to protest against the current recruitment situation, especially youth unemployment and Saedi’s performance, a member of the parliament from Hoveyzeh and the Azadegan plain, and prevented Saedi from leaving the location.
• Teachers in Iran Launch a Campaign to Protest Low Wages
Protests by Iranian teachers against their low salaries has gained momentum in recent days, social media reports say.
The campaign, under the banner of “No! to Payslips and Salaries” was launched by several teachers’ rights activists almost immediately after the Ministry of Education declared it will increase teachers’ salaries six to ten percent for the next school-year, a local news website, Khabar Online reported.
