GCC Official: Exporting the 'Iranian revolution' to other countries is rejected

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Brussels

Brussels – Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said there is a determination to expand bilateral relations between European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Speaking at the European Union-Gulf Cooperation Council Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, Jubeir said that it is important to strengthen bilateral political, economic, cultural and social cooperation and relations between EU and GCC.
Following the meeting, Jubeir held a joint press conference with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini during which he said that Bashar al-Assad did not honor the Russian promises regarding Syria. He added that there’s hope for a solution for the Syrian crisis, but “Syria will be judged on what actually happens on the ground.”
The minister stressed that the humanitarian situation in Yemen concerns all parties and they are working closely with the U.N. envoy to follow up on the situation and devise solutions.
Whereas Mogherini said that EU and GCC have a mutual interest to work together closely on countering terrorism.
“We decided to do so more and more in the coming months and years. We will continue to work together to fight ISIS, other terrorist movements. But also we will work together to prevent radicalization and find ways to be effective in our fight against terrorism,” she said.
The ministerial meeting discussed the importance of increased cooperation to fight terrorism.
Head of Mission for the Gulf Cooperation Council to the European Union Amal al-Hamad said that the attendees exchanged common concerns regarding situations in Yemen, Iran, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Middle East Peace Process.
She added that exporting the Iranian revolution to other countries is rejected especially in the Gulf countries where there is no sectarianism.Secretary General of GCC Abdul Latif al-Zayani said during his speech that EU is one of the most important partners of GCC. He said that the trade exchange between GCC and EU reached 155 billion Euros in 2015.
Zayani added that the partnership between EU and GCC is conducted on several basis and includes negotiations and coordination to ensure stability and enhance security in the region.

Iran is the problem not the solution for India

Indian PM Narendra Modi visit to the United States

In an article published in the Indian Express on June 19, 2016, former US Senator, Joseph Lieberman warns Indian government of not falling for a petty interest in dealing with the terrorist sponsor regime of Iran. The article explains that financial and economic relations with the mullahs’ ruled Iran, would rob any country of real and tangible benefits of doing business with the rest of the world.
Senator Lieberman explains that Iran’s long cold war with Saudi Arabia has become hotter in recent times, evidenced by the ransacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen. The international community cannot afford to take its eye off Iran and Hezbollah—whether they are threatening Israel or Saudi Arabia. This past month, a senior adviser to Iran’s Quds Force warned that Iran could wipe out Israel “in less than eight minutes”. Iran also continues to host high-level delegations from terrorist organizations which endanger many of America’s allies. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallah view Israel and Saudi Arabia as two sides of the same coin.
Hezbollah’s heavy involvement in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime has provided the terrorist organization with new weaponry and sophisticated logistics and tactical training from both Iran and Russia, making it more dangerous.

Iranian mullahs’ Fear of General Uprising

Source: American Thinker, May 18, 2016

Reports from inside Iran indicate a mounting economic crisis, despite a windfall of billions pouring into Iran following the nuclear deal sealed with the P5+1 following negotiations in which the international community bent over backwards in the mullahs’ favor.
After waves of spurious promises, which ultimately failed to provide or allow the people to reap any form of benefit from this deal, the government of Hassan Rouhani -- with a faux pas catchphrase of “moderation” -- is engulfed in a series of major calamities, with fears simmering among the leadership of growing dissent that can only possibly be construed as the roots of general uprisings in the making across the country.

Dismal Report Card for Rouhani

During the past few years, Iran’s economy has experienced skyrocketing inflation rates, which according to a parliamentary report is running alongside an unemployment tsunami. Politicians are pressuring the banks to decrease profit rates (to numbers lower than inflation rates). Moreover, the banks have taken their own action to safeguard resources, by investing in financial markets of real estate and production lines.
Various governments in Iran, especially that of Rouhani, have throughout the years issued specific instructions to the country’s banks, aimed at decreasing their profits. As this trend continued, the banks gradually failed to live up to their duties as financial mediators and liquidity directors.

The Liquidity Plight

The main problem – as was the case internationally in the 2008 slump -- in this regard is lack of liquidity. Liquidity is running at 20% in Iran, and has plagued the economy for many years now. On the other hand, the true portion of Iran’s economy is suffering from liquidity shortage. Despite the fact that Iran’s economy is based on banks, it appears the issue of diverting liquidity and its quantity have raised startling concerns.
“The main reason behind liquidity shortage lies in unpaid bank loans, and the government -- as the main party in debt to banks -- must take action on this matter,” said Mohammad Mehdi Reiszadeh, an advisor in Iran’s Chamber of Commerce.

The Banking Scapegoat

Whenever governments face any type of shortages, they focus pressure on the banking system and the country’s central bank. The remaining unpaid bank loans belong largely to the regime’s senior elite, with a list of 30 individuals said to be controlling a large portion of such unpaid bank loans. If this money was actually recoverable, the banking system would have been able to provide investment for production units. There is no such thing occurring in Iran today.

Doomed Policies

Media outlets associated with the camp of former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani and Rouhani, are pointing fingers at the government of firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for squandering oil revenues -- made available to him through years of oil prices in the range of $100+ a barrel -- in the housing and construction industry.
With this industry facing major problems, it had its toll on Iran’s now parched economy, as more than 200 to 300 industries linked to road and construction now face major rollbacks, with the entire economy threatened by recession. A collapse of the real estate industry that provided profits for the banks resulted in an effective lockup of bank funds.
Such counterproductive plundering adopted by the mullahs’ regime have spiked anger amongst the people, surfacing especially among the youth. Mardom-Salari, a newspaper affiliated to the Rafsanjani-Rouhani camp, has conveyed a similar message over the breadth of escalating public unrest.
“… two issues that can enormously destroy the Rouhani government, and may even deliver a significant defeat in the 2017 presidential elections, is the continuing state of economic recession, and no improvements in the lower class’ daily living conditions… the economic recession, developing from 2014 onward to this day, has yet to provide room for any positive signs.”
In fact, indications show that in the present fiscal climate, an effective recession will continue into 2016 and early 2017.
Another challenge for Rouhani’s government will is the lower class’ lack of participation in politics and support for government policies, especially in Tehran and other large cities. This should ring alarm bells for Rouhani’s government.
Iran is a country where a significant percentage of the economy is all but monopolized by the Revolutionary Guards, a military force running parallel to the regular army, while in other sectors of the country, desperate people are resorting to “street-vendoring” to make ends meet, and families have become so poor they are literally renting out their children for $5 a day, or even selling them for less than $700.
As long as the regime in Iran is established on the central tenets of domestic crackdown, plundering the people’s wealth, and exporting terrorism and fundamentalism across the globe, the ruling mullahs in Tehran and their military/security top brass will continue to rule in a state of paranoia, forever terrified at the possibility of nationwide uprisings brewing under the ashes of a failing economy in a nation where the seeds of revolt are fast beginning to materialize after years of violent repression. With the mullah’s grip beginning to loosen, galvanized dissent within Iran is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Iran is ranked in the bottom 10 in gender equality around the world

Economists warn that women are not likely to reach economic equality with men until the year 2133

  It will take another 118 years to close the global gender gap, research conducted by the World Economic Forum has revealed.

The annual Global Gender Gap report tracks changes in equality between men and women by analyzing female participation in four key categories: the economy, education, health and politics.
Economists have ranked 145 countries, with Iceland holding on to the top position for the seventh consecutive year. Other Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden and Norway – fill out the top four.
Rwanda ranks sixth and is the highest-rated developing country in the world, achieving a greater level of equality than the UK, the US or Germany. Women are almost equal members of the economy and the labor force, and hold the majority of seats in parliament – the highest proportion in the world.
The UK is ranked 18th, coming in below South Africa, Namibia and Nicaragua. It scores very highly in health and education, but a lack of women in parliament means it scores poorly for political empowerment.
North African and Middle Eastern countries feature heavily at the bottom of the rankings. Iran is ranked in the bottom 10 among 145 countries along with Syria and Yemen.
The current inequalities 'risk being exacerbated' in the future due to technological advancements that eradicate jobs traditionally held by women, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum told the Daily Telegraph.
'In that context, we need to create a world where women’s contributions and ideals are as valued as those of men,' he urged. 'Gender parity in our thinking and actions will be critical in helping to ensure that the future is served by humanity and not threatened by i

cheap oil will hurt Iran’s comeback

 

The following  article was published by Matt Egan on Money.com on the recent oil glut and the effect of falling prices in the region, especially on Iran.
Iran may be about to emerge from decades of economic isolation -- at an absolutely terrible time for an oil-producing country.

Years of painful economic sanctions by the West have ravaged Iran’s economy, sending unemployment and inflation soaring.
 Oil prices are tanking and may stay depressed for some time.
U.S. crude oil prices touched $41.21 a barrel on Thursday. That’s the lowest price since early 2009 and down 60% from June of last year.
The price crash is hurting oil-exporting countries of all stripes.
But Iran’s economy is coming off an extremely low base, after years of sitting in the penalty box. New oil exports won’t bring in as much money as it would like, but it would still be more than where it is currently.
Still, Iran is expected to pump oil ferociously in an effort to make up for lost revenue.
'Iran has been talking a big game. They will try to look like they are coming back to oil markets with a vengeance,' said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital and a former analyst at the CIA.

Iran needs higher oil prices
One problem for Iran is budgetary. To balance its budget, Iran needs oil prices to be at least $130 a barrel, or more, according to a Deutsche Bank analysis from 2014.
That’s far higher than the prices listed in the budgets of Russia, Saudi Arabia and smaller countries like Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
One major reason Iran needs higher prices is because it has the second-highest population in the region.

Iran deal could worsen the oil glut
But adding a ton of new Iranian crude to the global oil market at a time when prices are at 6-year lows would only worsen the situation.
Already, there’s a huge supply glut, which helped cause the price meltdown in the first place. Iran will only add to the excess supply.
'We think it could be a bad couple of weeks for the oil market,' said Croft.

Cheap oil could slow investments in oil field upgrades
But cheap oil creates other serious headaches for Iran.
More than half of Iran’s oil fields are over 70 years old, according to Phillipp Chladek, an oil analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. These mature fields need serious upgrades in order to operate. That’s one reason why analysts are very skeptical of Iran’s claims that within months of sanctions relief it can ramp up production by one million barrels per day.
'They will need investment in new fields. Right now they’re strapped for cash -- just like everybody else,' said Matt Bey, an analyst at geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor.
But Iran may not be able to count on large Western companies for these much-needed updates. These companies are already dialing back spending due to the crash in oil prices. It’s possible that Big Oil may decide it’s not worth it to bet on a risky country like Iran in today’s depressed oil price environment.
'That’s going to hurt Iran the most,' said Bey.
Other analysts believe energy companies will not be able to resist the lure of Iran, which has 9% of the Middle East’s proven global oil reserves and 18% of its gas reserves. Major European oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) and Eni (E) met with Iranian officials in Tehran earlier this year to discuss business plans.