US Treasury Department Issues Guidance For Iran's Imam Reza Shrine

Around seven percent of world cryptocurrency mining by powerful computers that use a lot of electricity is estimated to be taking place in Iran. The world’s cheapest electricity rates in the country encourage to lucrative business, in some cases with the involvement of some Chinese entities.

Iran experienced renewed electricity shortages in June when temperatures rose and air-conditioning units were turned on. The controversial practice of cryptocurrency mining was banned for three months, although tens of thousands of illegal, underground computers continued to work.

Electricity shortages are again expected in the winter, as Iran is chronically short of power generation due mainly to lack of investments in the sector. A severe drought in 2021 has further reduced power generation as most dams are more than half empty.

Although some officials have said that crypto mining only uses 300 megawatts of power, others have warned that usage is much higher and it can threaten to power grid.

Local media have been reporting that even in some government offices illegal crypto machines have been operating. The director of Tehran’s stock exchange Wednesday announced his resignation after cryptocurrency mining machines were uncovered at the offices of the organization.

Yair Lapid's arrival was the first high-level visit to the country by a senior Israeli official since the signing last year of an agreement to establish diplomatic ties.

"The king's leadership and inspiration led to genuine cooperation and the meeting paved the way for the continuation of the relationship," Lapid said a statement released by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Lapid had earlier landed in Bahrain's capital, Manama, for meetings with his Bahraini counterpart and to inaugurate Israel's embassy.

Israel established formal diplomatic relations with four Arab states last year as part of the U.S.-brokered "Abraham Accords."

Lapid has already visited the United Arab Emirates and Morocco and opened Israel's diplomatic offices there since he became Israel's foreign minister in June.

Bahrain's first ambassador to Israel arrived earlier this month and presented his credentials to Israel's figurehead president on the anniversary of the signing of the accords.

The two countries had long enjoyed clandestine security ties over a shared distrust of regional rival Iran, but only last year took the relationship public.

Report by AP

This follows speculation for some months that a reported agreement over using Iranian money frozen in Korean banks to buy humanitarian goods might be extended to cover Korean-made home appliances, which dropped out of the Iranian market when the United States introduced stringent banking sanctions in 2018.

The letter, signed by Khamenei office chief Mohammad Mohammadi Golpaygani September 6, cited a call from Iranian manufacturers that Korean home appliances be kept out.

Khamenei's ban could also be a means to pressure South Korea to address the issue of Iran's frozen funds. On Thursday, two days after the ban was made public, Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone talk with his Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong and urged him to redouble efforts to address the issue.

Raisi conveyed the leader’s office instruction to the relevant ministers − for the economy, and for industries, mines and trade − September 8. Official news agencies Tuesday published the two communications.

The value of Iran's home appliances market has been estimated at between 4.5 to 6 billion dollars. Aside from problems with US sanctions, Iran has for several years not issued import permits for home-appliances if comparable items are made at home.

Khamenei's letter referred only to "two South Korean companies" but meant LG and Samsung, who ceased trade with Iran after the US introduced in 2018 financial sanctions threatening third parties in 2018, despite Iran’s warning it would be difficult for them to return once US sanctions ended. The Korean firms had previously established an important market, including the assembly in Iran by Iranian companies of a variety of goods including air conditioners, and TV and audio sets.

In February media reported the US Treasury was in talks with South Korea to allow the transfer of some of Iran's funds frozen by Korean banks to Switzerland for humanitarian purchases. In July the South Korean Finance Ministry said an agreement had been reached.

Some Iranian media claimed the agreement also allowed frozen funds to be used to buy products from LG and Samsung to send to Iran. This was denied by an official of Iran's Home Appliances Industries Association, Abbas Hashemi, on September 6 in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), when he insisted Tehran rather than Washington should decide how to use the frozen money.

"The matter is not too complicated,” Mohammad-Reza Bagheri, a hardliner activist tweeted Thursday. “South Korea wanted to pay its debt with home appliances, conquer our markets and paralyze our industries…the Supreme Leader has opposed it."

Others on social media took a different view, posting in support of importing Korean products by claiming they were better than others on the market, or that not importing South Korean products benefits Chinese companies. Goldiran and Sam Service, the two Iranian companies that assembled LG and Samsung products for over two decades, now work with Chinese producers.

"Khamenei's ban on South Korean home appliances is more backing Chinese than Iranian domestic production because currently [Iranian companies] only assemble Chinese parts in Iran. Nothing is being produced," one of the many tweets against the ban said.

This follows speculation for some months that a reported agreement over using Iranian money frozen in Korean banks to buy humanitarian goods might be extended to cover Korean-made home appliances, which dropped out of the Iranian market when the United States introduced stringent banking sanctions in 2018.

The letter, signed by Khamenei office chief Mohammad Mohammadi Golpaygani September 6, cited a call from Iranian manufacturers that Korean home appliances be kept out.

Khamenei's ban could also be a means to pressure South Korea to address the issue of Iran's frozen funds. On Thursday, two days after the ban was made public, Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone talk with his Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong and urged him to redouble efforts to address the issue.

Raisi conveyed the leader’s office instruction to the relevant ministers − for the economy, and for industries, mines and trade − September 8. Official news agencies Tuesday published the two communications.

The value of Iran's home appliances market has been estimated at between 4.5 to 6 billion dollars. Aside from problems with US sanctions, Iran has for several years not issued import permits for home-appliances if comparable items are made at home.

Khamenei's letter referred only to "two South Korean companies" but meant LG and Samsung, who ceased trade with Iran after the US introduced in 2018 financial sanctions threatening third parties in 2018, despite Iran’s warning it would be difficult for them to return once US sanctions ended. The Korean firms had previously established an important market, including the assembly in Iran by Iranian companies of a variety of goods including air conditioners, and TV and audio sets.

In February media reported the US Treasury was in talks with South Korea to allow the transfer of some of Iran's funds frozen by Korean banks to Switzerland for humanitarian purchases. In July the South Korean Finance Ministry said an agreement had been reached.

Some Iranian media claimed the agreement also allowed frozen funds to be used to buy products from LG and Samsung to send to Iran. This was denied by an official of Iran's Home Appliances Industries Association, Abbas Hashemi, on September 6 in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), when he insisted Tehran rather than Washington should decide how to use the frozen money.

"The matter is not too complicated,” Mohammad-Reza Bagheri, a hardliner activist tweeted Thursday. “South Korea wanted to pay its debt with home appliances, conquer our markets and paralyze our industries…the Supreme Leader has opposed it."

Others on social media took a different view, posting in support of importing Korean products by claiming they were better than others on the market, or that not importing South Korean products benefits Chinese companies. Goldiran and Sam Service, the two Iranian companies that assembled LG and Samsung products for over two decades, now work with Chinese producers.

"Khamenei's ban on South Korean home appliances is more backing Chinese than Iranian domestic production because currently [Iranian companies] only assemble Chinese parts in Iran. Nothing is being produced," one of the many tweets against the ban said.

Speaking at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha, Borrell was referring to indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna that began in April and were suspended by Iran two days after hardline cleric Ebhraim Raisi (Raeesi) won Iran’s presidential election in June. Iran first said it needed time to form a government but more than a month has passed since a cabinet was formed. Tehran now says it is evaluating the previous rounds of negotiations.

Borrell said he believed the negotiations aimed at bringing back Tehran and Washington into full compliance with the agreement will resume "within an acceptable period of time".

After former US President Donald Trump ditched the deal three years ago and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran has been rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, enriching it to higher levels of fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up production.

President Joe Biden aims to restore the deal, but the sides disagree on which steps need to be taken and when, with the key issues being what nuclear limits Tehran will accept and what sanctions Washington will remove.

Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as Tehran's nuclear program is advancing well beyond the limits set by the deal.

Tehran says its nuclear steps are reversible if Washington lifts all sanctions. Iranian and Western officials have said many issues remain to be resolved before the accord can be revived.

Echoing Iran's official stance, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman told Le Monde newspaper that "Iran has reached conclusion that we certainly will return to the nuclear talks" in Vienna.

Saeed Khatibzadeh added that Iran would not "waste an hour before returning to Vienna talks once a re-evaluation of the sixth round of the nuclear talks" is completed by Raisi's government.

Despite Iran's need to bolster its economy by negotiating an end to US sanctions, insiders expect Raisi to adopt a tougher line when the talks resume.

France said it is counting on China, which has close ties to Tehran, to use its most "convincing arguments" with Iran to get Tehran back to nuclear talks, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne Claire Legendre said in a response to a Reuters question.

European officials say they are determined to keep unity among the parties to the nuclear deal - China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States - but have become increasingly concerned about China’s role.

US and European officials have said that the United States has reached out to China about reducing its purchases of Iranian crude oil.

Report by Reuters