Iran news in brief, May 6, 2019

Iran news in brief, May 6, 2019

White House: US Carrier Deployment 'Unmistakable Message to Iran'

The United States is sending an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East in response to what National Security Adviser John Bolton said are "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" linked to Iran.

In a statement late Sunday, Bolton said the moves are being made to "send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.

He added that the United states "is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces."

Israel Says It Has Killed a Man Who Transferred 'Millions' From Iran to Gaza

Palestinian media reports said that Hudri was killed by a direct Israeli Air Force airstrike on a vehicle in which he was travelling.

 The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported that Hudri, 34, a resident of Gaza, would bring large disbursements of Iranian cash into Gaza and distribute it among the various groups that enjoy Iranian backing: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other smaller groups. He used to money-change businesses he owned and money changers and tradesmen abroad to help launder the Iranian funds.

Iran's Rial Loses More Value Against Major Currencies

Iran’s battered currency took another significant dive on Sunday against major currencies, breaching the 150,000 rial to the dollar threshold. The currency was trading at around 138,000 to the dollar in the past two weeks.

The rial gained back some ground later in the day, but usually devaluations in Iran happen first with thresholds being broken and then more long-lasting lows taking hold.

Iran’s currency has lost value almost fourfold in the past 15 months, as the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Besides the sanctions, Iran’s economy also suffers from serious structural issues and corruption.

Iran: Families of Workers, Teachers Demand Loved Ones' Release

A group of families of workers and teachers arrested in Tehran by the regime’s repressive state security forces during Labor Day Protest and Iran’s Teachers Day gathered on Saturday in front of the capital’s notorious Evin Prison to demand the release of their loved ones. They sought information on the whereabouts of the detainees. However, the response from the prison authorities was muted, keeping the protesters outside the prison in dark.

Internal Feuds Over Telegram, Instagram in Iran

Following an upsurge in the internal infighting inside the factions of Iran’s regime over censorship measures against social media platforms Telegram and Instagram, Mohammad Montazeri, the regime’s attorney general lashed out at the Minister of Communications saying administrative authorities must pay attention to the scope of internet crimes.

“If we decide to publish these crimes, it would be shameful. The cyberspace issue is left without checks and brings shame to the country,” Montazeri said.  “This damn network of Telegram and Instagram, which is filled with whatever people outside Iran want, is known to all of us.”

The mullahs’ attorney general insisted on internet censorship, terrorism and internet repression, describing such measures as the “fight against internet crimes.”