Iran news in brief, March 15, 2019

Iran news in brief, March 15, 2019

At Least Five Killed in Iran Gas Explosion

At least five people were killed and five others injured on Thursday in a gas pipeline explosion in southwest Iran, Fars news agency reported. Initially, ISNA had reported fewer casualties.

"Gas leakage from a pipeline that linked the gas network from Mahshahr city to Ahvaz city, caused the blast," ISNA quoted local official Kiamars Hajizadeh as saying. The two cities are located in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province.

Poor safety measures and Iran's aging infrastructures have been blamed by some authorities for blasts in the past.

The number of those killed and wounded might change as emergency services receive more accurate reports.

European Parliament Urges Iran to Release Sotoudeh, Other Jailed Rights Defenders

The European Parliament has urged Iran to stop criminalizing the work of women's rights activists and reiterated its call on the country's authorities to "immediately and unconditionally" release prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

In a resolution adopted on March 14, the lawmakers urged Iran to release "all human rights defenders, prisoners of conscience, and journalists detained and sentenced merely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly."

It also called on the authorities to "stop the surveillance, arrest, harassment, and prosecution of journalists, online activists and their families, and to put an end to online censorship."

Joining FATF 'Strategic Mistake,' Iran Assembly of Experts Warns

In an unprecedented statement, the Islamic Republic's Assembly of Experts (AE) has warned against Iran joining international financial transparency agreements aimed at curbing money laundering and terrorism funding.

Ending its annual meeting March 13, the AE issued a statement saying that joining the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a step proposed by President Hassan Rouhani’s government, would be a “strategic mistake.”

Rouhani presented the proposal to meet FATF requirements to parliament in November 2017. Backers of the legislation, known collectively as the Palermo Bills, say joining the FATF and other international agreements on financial transparency would reduce international pressure on Iran’s deteriorating economy.

Al-Jubeir: Consensus on Syria Will Lead to Pullback of Iran Forces

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said that the resolution of the Syrian crisis will lead to the withdrawal of Iranian forces and militias from the region.

He was speaking in Brussels at the conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” at the European Council on Thursday.