IAEA chief warns of shrinking diplomatic space for Iran nuclear deal

"I, Vahid Vakilifar, an independent filmmaker, 43 years old, blood type B negative, have decided to sell one of my kidneys due to my financial situation. Please send your offers to the following email address," he wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

Iranians are struggling with high prices, sanctions and a crippling exchange rate.

The news prompted the Independent Filmmakers Association of Iran to issue a statement criticising the Iranian government. They linked Vakilifar's act to the state's repressive policies and highlighted the dire financial conditions faced by independent artists in the country.

"(It's) a shocking and painful act against a filmmaker half of whose works remain unreleased," the Association said. "Cinema authorities in Iran...impose increasing restrictions rather than improving conditions for filmmakers."

The incident is not an isolated phenomenon. Reports of young Iranians, particularly those in their 20s, selling their organs to make ends meet have been on the rise.

According to a report by Iranian economic outlet Tejarat News in March, being a young donor is regarded as an advantage, with young sellers referring in the advertisements to their age and athleticism as their strong points.

Most of the advertisements in the organ market are for kidneys, with each kidney fetching a price in Iran’s organ market between 3 to 6 billion rials (about 4,000 to $10,000).

According to Iranian regulations, kidney donors receive 800 million rials (around $1,300) as a "reward." However, the transaction is framed as a series of "agreements" between donors and recipients outside official mechanisms, allowing donors to gain additional financial benefits.

The high cost of living in Iran, coupled with inflation and unemployment, has pushed many into poverty.

The report, titled Outsiders: Multifaceted Violence Against Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran, was launched in New York on Monday and was prepared by the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and Monash University Eleos Justice program.

"The Baha'i Faith's followers were seen as apostate infidels, and they have faced continuous and intense persecution, marked by episodes of extreme violence and systematic denial of life," Dr. Roya Boroumand, executive director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, said in statement shared on X by the international non-governmental organization Baha’i International Community.

The report categorizes this persecution into three types of violence: direct, structural, and cultural violence.

Direct violence includes extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention. The report highlights that structural violence stems from the Islamic Republic's laws and policies that systematically exclude Baha’is from equal rights, while cultural violence is reinforced through state propaganda, with Baha’is portrayed as “impure” and as “agents of foreign powers” to justify ongoing discrimination.

“This is a community stripped of its freedoms simply for exercising their rights to practice their faith,” Germany’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas Peter Zahneisen, added at the report’s launch in New York.

“Despite torture, forced confessions, and other forms of abuse, the story of the Baha'is in Iran is not only one of suppression, but one of humanity, perseverance, and courage,” he added.

Mai Sato, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, highlighted that Baha’is are excluded from Iran’s constitution, which justifies official marginalization. “The structural violence inflicted by the state is resisted and not embraced by the Iranian community,” she said in a statement coinciding with the report's launch.

“That is a hopeful and uplifting end to the report.”

The report connects the ideological basis of this persecution to Iran's central ruling doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih or clerical rule, which leaves little room for religious pluralism.

Baha’is, it added, are viewed as a theological and political threat and accused of allegiance to Israel and Western powers, deepening their marginalization.

The report’s findings align with recent independent findings from rights organizations. In July 2024, Human Rights Watch classified Iran’s treatment of the Baha’i community as “a crime against humanity of persecution.”

A joint statement by 18 UN Special Rapporteurs condemned “a sharp rise in attacks” on Baha’i women. Former UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Javaid Rehman said, “The Baha’is were targeted with genocidal intent and persecution.”

Researchers in the Boroumand Center report highlighted a shift in public attitudes toward the Baha’is.

“Our findings suggest that, despite repeated attempts to indoctrinate the public with anti-Baha’i sentiment, the Iranian population has increasingly resisted the policy of discrimination,” Christopher Alexander, a researcher on the report, said. “Direct and structural violence are perpetuated by the state, but there appears to be an increasing lack of internalization of this violent culture by the masses.”

The Islamic Republic’s treatment of Baha’is could constitute crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the report said.

Researchers urged the international community to use universal jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute these crimes, while Baha’i representatives continue to call for urgent protections.

Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, said the report’s international attention “gives hope to those suffering persecution within the country and calls on the Iranian government to end its violent policies against all victims of human rights abuses in Iran.”

"There’s one thing Khamenei's regime fears more than Israel. It’s you – the people of Iran," Netanyahu said in a video published on X.

“They spend so much time and money trying to crush your hopes and curb your dreams," he added. "Don't let your dreams die. Don't lose hope and know that Israel and others in the free world stand with you.”

Netanyahu published a similar video a few weeks ago, which he said proved popular and made him decide to do another one.

"Since I last spoke to you, the Khamenei regime launched hundreds of ballistic missile at my country, Israel," he said, asserting that the attack came at a cost of $2.3 billion. "That's how much they wasted of your precious money on futile attacks."

"The missiles did marginal damage to Israel, but what damage did they do to you that some could have added billions to your transportation budget? It could have added billions to your education budget. But instead, Khamenei exposed the regime's brutality and turned the world against your country,” he added.

Netanyahu pointed out that under a free Iran, the country’s children could receive world-class education, its people could enjoy advanced healthcare, clean water, and modern infrastructure.

Netanyahu expressed Israel's willingness to help rebuild Iran’s collapsing infrastructure, particularly its water systems, pointing to Israel’s advanced desalination technology as an example.

He concluded his message with a call to hope, referencing the Iranian slogan Women, Life, Freedom and encouraging Iranians to not let their dreams die and to continue striving for a free and prosperous future.

The cabinet's directive, dated November 10, ratified the implementation of an article in the current Iranian year's budget (started March 20), which addresses subsidy reforms.

According to this regulation, licensed private companies are now authorized by the Ministry of Oil to import and distribute premium (super) gasoline at non-subsidized prices, outside the government's network of gas stations.

The Iranian government offers one of the cheapest gasolines in the world, at less than 10 US cents per gallon, according to a policy of subsidizing essential commodities for the population. However, these subsidies including food, natural gas and electricity costs the government more than $50 billion annually.

Although the decree does not explicitly mention subsidized gasoline, domestic media have interpreted it as a sign of impending fuel price increases.

The estimated price for this imported gasoline is around 800,000 rials per liter (around $1.20). President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration continues to deny having any plans to reduce subsidies for gasoline, while seemingly advancing it in practice. Thus far, the government has approved an 11-fold increase in aviation fuel prices and anticipates substantial revenue growth from fuel sales.

There is no clear information on the quality of the premium gasoline Iran plans to allow for import. However, Iran has a longstanding practice of importing high-quality gasoline and diluting it for profit. In April 2023, Hossein Aghayan, a former director in the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), said, "Previously, we imported super or premium gasoline and mixed it with light naphtha, and there was no issue. But if we aim to supply high-quality gasoline, we must import it." As a result, the gasoline sold by the government has low Octane and is considered sub-standard.

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A few hours after the document was shared with the media, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani faced a wave of questions from journalists about a possible gasoline price increase.

She emphasized, “There is no increase in the price of gasoline in next year’s budget.”

However, Mohajerani acknowledged that the government must import gasoline to address shortages.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the Planning and Budget Organization noted, “Setting the prices of petroleum products requires decision-making at the highest levels of national management, and any adjustment or pricing must be thoroughly discussed across various levels.”

For most Iranians, who earn about $200 per month, a large increase could push an already struggling population to the brink. Violent protests shook Iran in November 2019, when the government suddenly tripled gasoline prices. But the government is also cash-strapped because of US sanctions that have led to limited export of crude oil.

Historically, fuel price increases in Iran have happened outside of budget legislation, as in November 2019 when gasoline prices rose with the Supreme Leader’s backing of a decision by the Coordination Council of the Three Branches, bypassing parliamentary oversight.

This new decree, allowing private companies to import premium gasoline and supply it outside the usual distribution network, acts as an implementation regulation of the budget law. However, neither the import of premium gasoline nor its distribution outside the standard network was specified in this year’s budget. Instead, the government is advancing this policy through a special directive.

Under the administration of Hassan Rouhani, Iran issued its first license to supply fuel outside the traditional distribution network. Following this, the private sector entered the market with fuel tankers, referred to as "mobile stations," which delivered fuel directly to consumers upon request. Some of the mobile stations were also stationed in designated urban areas, where they sold gasoline on-site.

On Monday, Trump announced Representative Elise Stefanik of New York is to become United Nations ambassador, Representative Mike Waltz of Florida will take over as national security advisor, and it is expected that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will become secretary of State.

Speaking to Iran International, Richard Pater, Israel director of the think tank, The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM), said it was good news for Israel.

“The initial appointments and the early anticipation around the second Trump administration bode well and signal good news for US allies in the region.

“From a security perspective they will build on regional alliances to defend against malign Iranian aggression. Furthermore, there is renewed hope that these alliances can be solidified and that the Abraham Accords can be expanded.”

Stefanik has made no secret of her stance on Iran. In May, addressing the Israeli parliament, she said: “The US is ready for a return to President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran.”

On Saturday, she reiterated her Iran stance, slamming the Biden administration’s approach which over the last three years has seen Iran earn record amounts of oil revenue in the face of sanctions, and successfully earned billions in what human rights groups call "hostage taking."

Last year, five US citizens were released from prison in Iran for $6bn in released frozen funds, just before Hamas, Iran's ally, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

“For too long, our enemies have been emboldened by the weakness of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Stefanik wrote on Saturday on X.

Signaling a strong approach to the Palestinian topic, she also wrote on Sunday that her target would encompass cracking down on the Palestinian leadership alongside the Gaza war.

“The Biden-Harris Administration knows that the Palestinian Authority is continuing their “pay-to-slay” policies and lining the pockets of terrorists who kill Israelis,” she wrote, the PA offering money to those who kill Israelis, and pay their families if they are killed in the line of ‘jihad’ or are imprisoned.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are choosing to ignore the law and waiving mandatory terrorism sanctions on the Palestinian government. Thankfully the Biden-Harris Administration’s rewarding of terrorists at the expense of our great ally Israel is coming to an end,” she wrote on Sunday.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Iran International that while the debate about the meddling of Iran in Palestinian affairs troubles the Palestinian leadership, especially in the West Bank, it remains a taboo topic on the streets. Iran supports not only Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad which are both in Gaza and the West Bank, but also multiple battalions in the West Bank.

“Palestinians don’t openly talk about Iran, because you’ll be seen as a traitor and against the resistance,” he told Iran International.

“Palestinian officials are very worried about what Iran does in terms of supporting terror in the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the battalions in the West Bank, but when you ask them to speak publicly about it they don’t want to.”

In addition to the war in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 Hamas attacks, the West Bank is fraught with conflict between Iran-backed groups and the Israeli military.

“I’m sure the Palestinian leadership are looking at Trump to resolve this, knowing that these groups are only serving Iran’s agenda, but on the street, you don’t hear this debate,” he added.

Mike Waltz has been a vocal critic of the Islamic Republic, condemning the Biden administration for creating an environment where Iran faces little consequence for its aggressive actions abroad, including attempts by its agents to target Donald Trump and former aides. Last year, the US labeled Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Waltz told Fox News last Thursday that Trump’s return means “maximum pressure” for the Islamic Republic, and that he poses an “existential threat” to the ruling of supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

“Why has Iran been trying to kill President Trump? Because they think they can get away with it,” he wrote on X last Thursday. “The Biden administration’s weakness over the last 4 years has emboldened our adversaries THAT MUCH. We need strong assurances from Biden RIGHT NOW to deter these Iranian threats AND he needs to provide military security to protect President Trump. This cannot wait.”

A ceasefire in Lebanon forcing Hezbollah to make concessions, would be in Iran’s interest, says Moty Cristal, a former Israeli negotiator. "Time is working against Iran because of the risk of attack so if I was Iran I would be looking to finalise a deal before Trump takes office. Iran is much weaker and more vulnerable right now, it has less air defences since the Israel attack and politically it’s much less credible," he told Iran International.

If before Trump comes, there is a deal with Hezbollah, the hawkish approach will not be the same. "It’s much harder to restart an aggressive approach if that’s in place. If there is no ceasefire in Lebanon until January, that opens more military options for Israel and the US against Iran and Hezbollah," he added.

If a ceasefire is put in place, Trump can execute the hawkish mindset and policies through additional sanctions or through something that will similarly weaken Iran, bringing Saudi Arabia into the 2020 Trump-brokered Abraham Accords with Israel which saw relations normalized with countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

"From Israel’s perspective, it might be better negotiation wise to wait," Cristal added. "The US negotiators are talking now about a stronger UN Resolution 1701, but if we get to February, Israel and the region might even get Resolution 1559 which is a complete disarmament of Hezbollah, not only pushing them north. That’s much better for Israel and the region."

Resolution 1701 from 2006 required Hezbollah and armed militias in southern Lebanon to retreat behind specified lines, in addition to disarming. Neither of which has since happened.