The Week in Review: April.19th – April.26th

By Natasha Phillips

APR. 26 – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hinted at the possibility of releasing detained dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after suggesting a prisoner swap with the U.S. this week. The British-Iranian mother has served three years of a five-year sentence in Iran’s Evin prison. Speaking at a conference in New York, Zarif suggested a swap with Nazanin and another woman in prison with her child in Australia, “I put this offer on the table publicly now. Exchange them.”

The Trump administration has removed waivers in place for the purchase of Iranian oil in a bid to place further pressure on the regime in Tehran. The move led to a surge in oil prices. Meanwhile the White House said it had worked hard to ensure that there would be a sufficient supply of oil to meet demand. Iran retaliated by threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, a significant waterway for oil tankers. 

  • Instagram’s decision to shut down accounts affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps sparked a furious reaction from a senior government official, whose account was also deleted in the social media shake-up. The Iranian government is noted for its prolific use of Western social media platforms to market its revolution while placing bans on the platforms for Iranians inside the country. Dr. Marco Bastos, a lecturer in Media and Communications at City, University of London told Kayhan Life that the move by Instagram should not have taken the guards by surprise.
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  • The Iranian government said it would file a lawsuit against the U.S. at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for blocking aid to people affected by the floods in Iran. According to Iranian Vice-President for Legal Affairs Laya Joneydi, Iran’s Red Crescent Society has not been able to access money for aid through the banks. Meanwhile aid has already been provided by several countries including Qatar, India, Pakistan, France, Germany, Turkey, Armenia and Italy. The U.S. denied that the sanctions had affected the flow of currency for relief work in Iran. Last year the World Court ruled that U.S. sanctions could not interfere with humanitarian aid efforts.
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  • Several European banks have been fined for breaching U.S. sanctions on Iran. UniCredit SpA and two of its subsidiaries, along with its German unit, UniCredit Bank AG are found to have illegally moved hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Iran.
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  • The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Qods Force has come out in support of beleaguered Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro in a bid to prevent U.S.-backed opposition political leader Juan Guaido from taking power in the country. A growing presence of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah in Venezuela has also been reported. Iran has strong ties with Venezuela, having invested a substantial amount of money and resources into developing a relationship with the country.
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