Iran news in brief, June 11, 2019

Iran news in brief, June 11, 2019

U.S. Says 'Only Solution' Is a New Deal Addressing Iran Regime's Threats

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus has said that the only solution to tensions with Iran’s regime is “a new and better deal that addresses the full scope of Iran’s threats.”

Speaking at her daily briefing, Ortagus referred to what she said were new threatening remarks by the regime’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif stating, “We aren’t impressed”.

“It can either behave like a normal nation or watch its economy crumble. Iran’s recent threat to cease performing key nuclear commitments under the JCPOA is a big step in the wrong direction”, she said.

IAEA Chief Says Iran Regime Has Increased the Production of Enriched Uranium

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano said the Iranian regime has increased the production of enriched uranium.

Amano said, "that the pace of production has increased according to the latest measurement."

Limiting the production of enriched uranium and its subsequent export are the cornerstones of the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers.

Iran-Linked Bomb Case in UK Kept 'Hidden'

Radicals linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement were found to be stockpiling bomb-making ingredients in London in 2015 in a case that was kept "hidden from the public", the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday.

Following a tip-off from a foreign government, British police and the MI5 intelligence service discovered thousands of disposable ice packs containing three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the report said, citing security sources.

The paper said that the decision not to inform the public about the discovery, which came shortly after the Iran nuclear deal was concluded, would "raise eyebrows".

Iran Regime's Minister of Energy Says Iranians Should Be Content With One Meal a Day

The Iranian Regime’s Minister of Energy implied that ordinary Iranians should be satisfied with just one meal a day amid the economic crisis that has left most of the population in poverty.

“Iranians eat a lot and dress in extravagance,” Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said in an interview with the state-run ILNA News Agency.

He blamed “consumerism” by Iranian society as the root of international sanctions.

“The reason we were sanctioned was our bad habits in consumption. The (US) realized that our weakness is consumption. We are a consumerist society. Why is China not being sanctioned like this? Because they are satisfied with one meal a day,” he added.

What the energy official failed to mention was that according to regime sources, 80% of Iranians lived under the poverty line even when sanctions had been lifted.

Retirees Hold Protest in Tehran

Retirees rallied in Tehran on Monday protesting the regime’s refusal to answer their demands. Their gathering was held outside the Iranian Regime’s Retirement Fund office, located in the capital’s Fatemi Avenue.

The protesters were holding a banner reading:

“The country’s retiree community, as the main and true owners of the country’s Retirement Fund, will not allow the sale and/or transfer of the Fund’s investments and assets to any other party.”