German Paper Flags Concerns Over Iranian Firm In Düsseldorf

The lawmakers are asking officials what additional authorities might be needed to prevent digital assets, such as stablecoin Tether from being used by sanctioned entities in Russia and elsewhere.

The letter sent on Sunday by US Senators, Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republican Roger Marshall, to officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin show increasing scrutiny on how cryptocurrencies could be used to circumvent sanctions.

Warren and Marshall raised particular concern about the use of Tether, whose value is pegged to the US dollar and designed to maintain a stable value.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Russian middlemen used Tether to evade Western sanctions in order to source weapons parts for drones and other military equipment.

Reuters also reported this month that Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA plans to use Tether in its crude and fuel exports as the US is set to reimpose oil sanctions on the country.

"The national security threat posed by cryptocurrency requires a commensurate response by our country's defense community," Warren and Marshall said. They noted that even though Tether's preferred crypto trading platform Garantex has been sanctioned, "it is not clear if these actions have stopped the flow of funds through the platform."

Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously said it respects US Treasury's list of sanctioned entities and is committed to ensuring sanctioned crypto wallet addresses are frozen.

Reporting by Reuters

Shamkhani is the nephew of Ali Shamkhani – the former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council who has held various high-ranking positions within the Iranian government and military.

In recent years, the economic activities of the Shamkhani’s family, including Ali Shamkhani’s two sons, his half-brother, wife and son-in-law, have been widely criticized and have made headlines in Iran.

Mo’oud Shamkhani previously served as an admiral in Iran’s navy and a former Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander.

The Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, reported that Shamkhani is accused of "receiving bribes and financial corruption" in the city of Abadan.

The Arvand Free Zone, which spans approximately 34,700 hectares, is a designated economic zone in southwestern Iran.

It includes industrial towns such as Abadan, Khorramshahr, Shalamcheh, and Minushahr and has been the focus of numerous corruption investigations in recent years.

High-profile arrests linked to the investigations include Esmail Zamani, former CEO of the Arvand Free Zone, who was arrested in December 2020, and Ahmad Rostami, former deputy for management development, who was arrested a few months later.

Mo’oud Shamkhani's arrest was made public on Sunday.

He was appointed as the Deputy for Technical and Infrastructure Affairs of the Arvand Free Zone in 2015, following his uncle Ali Shamkhani's appointment to the zone's board in January 2014.

Ali Shamkhani, now a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and a political advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has been a frequent target of criticism by “conservatives” in Iran.

In addition to the arrest, the Shamkhani family has been embroiled in various scandals, often related to accusations of nepotism including reports about Ali Shamkhani’s sons -- Hassan and Hossein -- owning dozens of businesses, such as large shipping companies, and misuse of power for financial gain.

Multiple reports have highlighted the lavish lifestyles of his family members both in Iran and abroad, raising questions about the sources of their wealth.

Controversies reached their peak following allegations of extravagant properties and bank accounts held by Shamkhani’s family, including those of his toddler grandson.

The 6th Exhibition on Export Potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran, dubbed ‘IRANEXPO 2024,’ is being held in Tehran from 27 April to 1 May.

North Korea's official media reported last week that a delegation led by the cabinet minister for international trade was visiting Iran, marking a rare public acknowledgment of ties between the two countries with presumed secret military cooperation.

Despite long-standing suspicions of collaboration between North Korea and Iran on ballistic missile programs, Kanaani rejected such claims, denouncing certain media outlets for "biased speculations by publishing untrue and baseless news".

The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, led the delegation's visit to Iran, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency. Yun, who has previously focused on Syria relations, has been actively involved in bolstering ties with Russia, leading a delegation to Moscow earlier this month.

In the face of denials, suspicions persist regarding ballistic missile collaborations between Iran, North Korea, and Russia, with reports indicating Iran's supply of ballistic missiles to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The report, which analyzed poverty trends from March 2022 to March 2023, has underscored a disparity between the minimum wage and the poverty threshold in Iran's provinces.

Incomes in Tehran, Alborz and Qom are inadequate to cover living expenses for a family of three, the study said.

The study also focused on patterns concerning nutrition and economic stability across Iran.

It highlights that half of Iran’s population falls short of the recommended calorie intake of 2,100 calories, with a significant decrease observed across all income brackets, particularly among middle-income earners.

This decline is primarily attributed to escalating inflation rates, which have soared to nearly 50%, leading to increased food prices and housing expenses, exacerbating the difficulties faced by Iranians, reducing their purchasing power, and widening the gap.

As a result of these challenges, many households are confronted with decisions such as cutting back on food consumption and prioritizing spending on durable goods amid a gloomy economic outlook.

According to the report, the poverty threshold for a three-person household in Tehran from March 2023 to March 2024 sits at 153 million rials (approximately $240), whereas the national average stands at 82 million rials ($130).

Meanwhile, Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of the parliament, stated Monday that "currently, many Iranian families have fallen below the poverty line," warning that "the middle class has almost disappeared."

He added that the number of families living below the poverty line has more than doubled compared to the past.

The phenomenon of the "working poor" – individuals employed yet living in poverty due to low wages – is particularly evident in Tehran, Alborz, and Qom. Even among those holding formal employment, escaping poverty remains elusive.

According to Dideban-e Iran news website, the price per kilo has doubled in the last year to 6,200,000 rials ($11). Afshin Sadr-Dadras, the CEO of Iran’s Central Union of Livestock, announced in June that the country’s demand for red meat has halved as per capita consumption of the item has alarmingly decreased in just two or three years from 12 kg to 6 or 7 kg.

Amid the economic crisis, many Iranians had recently begun to replace red meat with poultry, as families struggle with even the most basic food items, but even poultry has now become inaccessible to many.

On Thursday, Ali Ebrahimi, the CEO of the National Union of Poultry Producers, said that poultry production has overtaken consumption over the past two months, resulting in a surplus of supply over demand and lowering the price of the commodity.

The decline in price has hurt poultry farmers who are set to export 5,000 tons of poultry to Iraq in the next eight days, he stated.

Reports received earlier in March by Iran International indicate a significant drop in people’s purchasing power and the elimination of many food items in their diets, including red meat, chicken, and fish, one third of the country now living below the poverty line.

According to the conservative Khorasan newspaper, the prices of various legumes, an important item in the Iranian diet, have increased by 30 percent and rice, also a staple, by 10 percent.

The sharp rise in inflation in Iran has not just affected the food market. According to Iran's leading economic daily Donyaye Eqtesad (World of Economy), rent prices in the country in April 2024 rose by around 42 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, a real estate expert told Etemad daily that another increase of 40 percent or even more in rent prices is likely to occur in the next two months. Referring to the steady rise in Iran’s inflation rate, Abbas Akbarpour, Secretary of the Iranian Association of Road and Construction Engineers, remarked that landlords try to “preserve their capital” by determining the rent higher than the inflation rate and this means that rent prices are expected to increase even more.

The uncertainty in the economy and the continued depreciation of the national currency have led property owners to try to partially cover the effects of inflation in the next months, Akbarpour went on to say.

In more than a decade, Iran's economic growth has averaged zero. The situation has been further exacerbated since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018. Over the past six years, the rial, Iran’s national currency, has fallen 15-fold, fueling inflation and plunging millions of citizens into poverty.

An analysis of posts on Persian social media in March indicated that fast-growing residential rents have turned into one of the most serious economic concerns among Iranians.

After enduring a more than 40 percent annual inflation rate for the past five years and seeing their purchasing power slashed to a fraction of what it was in 2018, Iranians now have to struggle with rising rents that are surpassing the monthly salary of an ordinary employee.

In recent days, an increasing number of Iranian politicians, media outlets, and senior clerics have voiced criticism of the government's handling of the country's worsening economic crisis.