Iran news in brief, March 5, 2019

Iran news in brief, March 5, 2019

Dutch Recall Envoy From Iran in Murder Plot Row

The Netherlands said Monday it had recalled its ambassador from Tehran after Iran expelled two Dutch diplomats in a dispute over an alleged plot to assassinate regime opponents.

Dutch authorities accused Iran in January of involvement in the murder of two dissidents on Dutch soil in 2015 and 2017, and the EU slapped sanctions on Tehran over the killings.

Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a letter to parliament that the government "has decided to recall the Netherlands' ambassador to Tehran for consultations" over the row.

Blok said:  Iran's decision to expel the Dutch officials -- which was not previously announced in public -- was "not acceptable and is negative for the development of the bilateral relationship,".

Second Day of Protests by Teachers in Several Iranian Cities

On Monday, teachers in at least 30 Iranian cities held the second day of their sit-in protests.

The teachers are protesting against the government’s lack of response to their most basic demands, including low wages, inefficient insurance plans, poor living conditions and very poor management of the education sector.

Iranian teachers are struggling to make ends meet as economic conditions in Iran continue to decline. The protests of teachers are taking place against the backdrop of wider protests by other government employees and retired public sector workers whose lives have been negatively affected by the government corruption and the declining value of the rial. The salaries of teachers have not changed in spite of the increasing inflation rates in Iran, making the situation even more difficult for the teachers.

Two-Thirds of a Town Population in Iran Migrated and Are Now Slum Dwellers

The representative of Kerman in the Supreme Council of Provinces in Iran has said that slum dwelling has turned into a major problem in the city of Kerman.

Mehrdad Aminifar told ILNA, two-thirds of the population of Baft a town in Kerman province, or roughly 40,000 people out of 60,000 have migrated to the provincial capital and another town. The reasons behind this big population movement are, “lack of jobs, schools, healthcare and entertainment…and all these problems have been compounded leading to 45,000 slum dwellers in the city of Kerman”.

But Aminifar has also singled out environmental factors such as lack of water for the mass migration. The Jazmoorian River in the area has completely dried up and dust storms have become a regular occurrence.

Navy Veteran Imprisoned in Iran Was Beaten, Family Says

Michael R. White, the Navy veteran imprisoned in Iran since July, was beaten after his arrest, has no money to hire a lawyer and still does not know what charges — if any — have been filed against him, his mother said Monday.

Joanne White also said that her son, a former cancer patient, had been taken to a court at least twice and that his health was deteriorating.

Ms. White learned of her son’s travails after diplomats from the Swiss Embassy in Tehran visited him on Feb. 6 at the prison where he has been held, in the northeast city of Mashhad. The Swiss Embassy represents American interests in Iran.