Iran news in brief, May 8, 2019

Iran news in brief, May 8, 2019

Europe Ready to Reimpose Sanctions If Iran Breaches Nuclear Deal

Iran Regime has decided to suspend some of its commitments under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.

Iranian state media says Tehran has sent letters reducing its commitments under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal.

A French diplomatic source told Reuters on Tuesday, that if Iran withdraws from the deal, then Europe would reimpose sanctions on the country.

the source said: "We do not want Tehran to announce actions that would violate the nuclear agreement, because in this case we Europeans would be obliged to reimpose sanctions as per the terms of the agreement,".

Pompeo Makes a Surprise Visit to Iraq Amid Rising Tensions With Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled a planned trip to Germany to fly to Iraq and meet Iraqi leaders amid rising tensions with Iran.

Iraqi leaders promised to ensure the safety of US interests amid rising tensions with Iran, the secretary of state said Tuesday on the surprise visit.

Pompeo met both President Barham Saleh and Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.

Pompeo said he made the trip to Iraq because Iran "is escalating their activity," although he declined to discuss intelligence in detail.

US Likely to Send Four Bombers to the Middle East

The bomber task force the United States said it was sending to the Middle East will likely include four bombers along with personnel to fly and maintain the aircraft, US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they would likely be B-52 aircraft and had not yet departed for the Middle East.

US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Monday he had approved sending a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East because of indications of a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces,” but did not provide any details on the underlying intelligence.

Iran's Currency Drops to a Seven-Month Low

Iran’s currency reached its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in the past seven months, according to reports from Iran on Tuesday, May 7.

Foreign exchange websites reporting virtually live on actual free market rates, say that the Iranian rial reached a low of 154,000 against the greenback.

The Iranian currency reached a low of 150,000 to the dollar two days earlier and it was expected to go lower. Fifteen months ago, the rial was trading at less than 40,000.

Iran Secretly Hangs Four Men on Drug Related Charges in Arak Prison

Iran secretly hanged four prisoners on drug related charges in Central Prison of Arak.

The four prisoners executed on April 29 are identified as Seyed Hamidreza Hosseinkhani, 37, Majid Kazemi, 42, Mohammad Hemmati, 26, and Mohammad Davoudabadi, 26.

On the same day, two 17-year-old boys in Iran were also executed, after a trial that appears to have seriously breached fundamental due process guarantees.

Iran Sentences Seven Bahais to Three Years in Jail Each for Their Religious Beliefs

The Revolutionary Court in Bushehr, in southern Iran, has sentenced seven members of the Bahai religious minority to a total of 21 years in jail on the charges of "propagating against the political system."

The Bahais in Iran are deprived of university education and the right to work with the government, and their businesses are shut down by religious authorities of the Regime.