This is potentially very good news for Iran, although I’ve raised a few (so far) unanswered questions below. If readers know the answers, please fork them over. ; )
From iranpress.com, Nov 29, 2019
“Six other European countries have joined the INSTEX financial mechanism to fulfill the E3 countries’ (Germany, UK, France) commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden announced in a joint statement that they are in a process of attaching the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) for helping the E3 countries, the European party of Iran’s nuclear deal or JCPOA, to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran.
The six European countries’ statement was published on Friday in Finland’s Foreign Ministry website.” [snip]
“With the US scrapping JCPOA, the E3 countries promised to compensate for the unilateral exit of the US through the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX).
INSTEX was set up to try to enable legitimate trade with Iran to continue without falling foul of US sanctions.
After a series of negotiations between Iran and EU officials to implement INSTEX, Iran declared that E3 can’t secure Iran’s interests in the economic frameworks and no practical measures have been undertaken to launch the mechanism.
Iran, then, notified its remaining partners in the deal that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments as a “wake-up call” to spur the European signatories to honor their end of the bargain.”
Nov 30, 2019: ‘US slams Europeans over joining EU-Iran financial trading mechanism’, iranpress.com/en:
“The United States ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell has criticized the joining of six European countries to the INSTEX trade mechanism, enabling business with Iran, saying the action is ‘disrespectful‘ to US policies.
The US ambassador to Germany tweeted: “Terrible timing – why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet? You should be standing for human rights not funding the abusers,” Iran Press reported.
Grenell is known for his extremist views against Iran and is the most controversial US ambassador in Europe.” [snip]
“Norway’s ambassador to Iran, Lars Nordrum, tweeted that “Today announced that we join INSTEX with the E3 to facilitate trade with Iran and preserve the JCPOA.”
RT.com had featured Grouchy Grenell’sTweet:
Terrible timing - why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet? You should be standing for human rights not funding the abusers. https://t.co/LKS37nIu1I
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 29, 2019
Grenell reTweeted:
"Why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet?" asked @RichardGrenell.
Reporting by @BenWeinthal https://t.co/G3WBuUDWRJ— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 30, 2019
Also Nov. 30, 2019: ‘New IAEA chief says he wants ‘constructive’ relation with Iran’, tehrantimes.com
“Rafael Grossi, the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said that he wants to develop a constructive relationship with the Iranians.
In an interview with NHK published on Saturday, he said he will take a fair stance on Iran.
Rafael Grossi is set to take office as director general of the UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday. The agency’s board appointed him to the post in October, following the death of the previous chief Yukiya Amano in July.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on October 31 that Iran is ready to expand cooperation with the IAEA based on “mutual trust” and adoption of a professional approach by the UN nuclear body.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to maintain and expand constructive interaction and cooperation with the agency based on mutual respect and professional precision and neutrality of this institution,” he said in a message, congratulating appointment of Grossi as the director general of the IAEA.
Mousavi expressed hope that Grossi would fulfill his international duties professionally and with adopting an independent position.
“What I think is important is that I give my member states and the international community the guarantee that I am absolutely independent and impermeable to pressure,” he said.
Now given that Saudia Arabia had been given a seat on the Board of Governors of the IAEA, I admit I’d figured that since the US seemed to have a heavy hand in the choice of the Director General, it might have been someone like Israeli Tzipi Livni, not Argentine Grossi, although the Wiki says that:
‘From 2002 to 2007 he was Chief of Staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. While working for the United Nations, Grossi visited North Korea’s nuclear facilities and participated in several meetings with representatives of Iran to reach an agreement to freeze its nuclear program.
On 28 October, 2019, the IAEA Board of Governors held its first vote to elect the new Director General, but none of the candidates secure the two-thirds majority in the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors needed to be elected. The next day, 29 October, the second voting round was held, and Grossi won 24 of the 23 needed votes required for Director General Appointment, and became the first Latin American to held the organisation.’
So yes, we hope he will indeed be ‘absolutely independent and impermeable to pressure.’ There are those who claim that Yukiya Amano refused to submit to pressure, and was assassinated for his…non-compliance with pressures. (Conspiracy Theory…or Coincidence Theory?
Now given this: “Iran declared that E3 can’t secure Iran’s interests in the economic frameworks and no practical measures have been undertaken to launch the mechanism”, I did poke about to discover more about INSTEX, and found this confusing explanation on ‘Business with Iran Through INSTEX: The Viability of Europe’s New Economic Trade Mechanism’, the practicality, feasibility, etc.. One brief outtake:
“Take for instance E.U. Company X, who wants to buy goods from Iranian Company Y. Instead of dealing directly with Iranian Company Y and making risky transactions that may violate sanctions, E.U. Company X pay what is owed through INSTEX SPV. That transaction is then ‘mirrored’ by INSTEX SPV Iran, which pays Iranian Company Y for the goods.
This way, technically speaking, no payments go through Iranian hands and no payments have to pass through international payments systems like SWIFT or vulnerable banks.”
And given that FM Javad Zarif has long responded on Twitter to the heavy sanctions on Iran, I looked to see if he’s given any indications or this news, including whether or not Iran would cease further enrichment as a ‘wake-up call’ to the EU, but this is his latest missive from three weeks ago:
Javad ZarifVerified account @JZarif Nov 11 “To my EU/E3 Colleagues 1.”Fully upheld commitments under JCPOA” YOU? Really? Just show ONE that you’ve upheld in the last 18 months 2.Iran triggered-& exhausted-dispute resolution mechanism while you were procrastinating We’re now using para36 remedies Look at my 6/11/18 letter”
As per the statement above was by Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, is Zarif ill or otherwise indisposed?
Relevant to Grenfell’s Tweet above: Sharmine Narwani’s ‘Western Media Excited About ‘New Iran Revolution’, but Polls Tell a Different Story About Protests’, Nov. 29, 2019, ahtribune.com (She opens with):
“On November 15, angry Iranians began pouring onto the streets to protest sudden news of a 50% fuel price hike. A day later, peaceful demonstrations had largely dissipated, replaced instead by much smaller crowds of rioters who burned banks, gas stations, buses and other public and private property. Within no time, security forces hit the streets to snuff out the violence and arrest rioters, during which an unconfirmed number of people on both sides died.
Western commentators tried in vain to squeeze some juice out of the short-lived protests. “Iranian protesters strike at the heart of the regime’s legitimacy,” declared Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution. France 24 asked the question, is this “a new Iranian revolution?” And the LA Times slammed Iran’s “brutal crackdown” against its people.
They grasped for a geopolitical angle too: protests in neighboring Lebanon and Iraq that were based almost entirely on popular domestic discontent against corrupt and negligent governments, began to be cast as a regional insurrection against Iranian influence.
And despite the fact that the internet in Iran was disabled for nearly a week, unverified videos and reports curiously made their way outside to Twitter accounts of Iran critics, alleging that protestors were calling for the death of the Supreme Leader, railing against Iran’s interventions in the region and calling for a fall of the “regime.”
Also from ahtribune.com, Nov. 24, 2019: ‘Iran Unrest: Protests and Provocations’, Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich (I won’t bring outtakes; this OP is long enough aready,)
And for the sheer beauty and glory of it: Iranian northwestern national parks share incredible biodiversity’ November 20, 2019, tehrantimes.com
Kantal National Park, East Azarbaijan province
‘The very center of your heart is where life begins – the most beautiful place on earth.’
~ Rumi
Comments
meanwhile, and small wonder:
‘Iran, China Coordinate Efforts to Save JCPOA, Senior diplomats from Iran and China weighed plans at a meeting in Beijing to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal’, December, 01, 2019, tasnimnews.com/en
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his Chinese counterpart Ma Zhaoxu attended a joint press conference after a consultative meeting in Beijing on Sunday.
Araqchi told reporters their meeting had revolved around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He also stressed that a phased reduction in Iran’s commitments to the JCPOA does not mean a withdrawal from the nuclear deal, but that it was aimed at saving the agreement.
Araqchi also noted that Iran welcomes China’s political and diplomatic efforts to find solutions to the JCPOA crisis, adding, “We believe that saving the JCPOA would be per se a great multilateral diplomatic success.”
Describing China as a strategic partner of Iran, the Iranian deputy minister said Tehran and Beijing will continue “strategic cooperation” on various regional and international issues, including matters relating to the JCPOA.
The Chinese diplomat, for his part, emphasized that China will make every effort to save the nuclear accord, saying the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and its policy of maximum pressure on Iran is the primary cause of the current crisis surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.
Ma also noted that China is pursuing plans to enhance the strategic and long-term relations with Iran.
Iran’s nuclear program is an indispensable part of strategic cooperation between Beijing and Tehran, he said, adding that the two sides have agreed to promote ties in order to protect the interests of the two nations and the international community.
My heart fills with something approaching hatred
when I contemplate the U.S. withdrawal from this deal--as unsurprising as it was.
My life would be so much easier if I could blame that solely on Trump.
Unfortunately, I don't really believe in the Clinton Democrats' support for the deal. That's one of the differences between the Clinton and Obama wings of the Democratic party. There's not a lot of daylight between the two, but the Obama wing is less foaming-at-the-mouth insane. They don't relish the thought of starting a nuclear war. In general, they'd rather avoid it. The Clinton wing, however...
I just wish I could think that a Hillary victory would have secured the deal. I just can't make myself believe it.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
ah, i hear ya,
amiga. i have some quotes in my files by some of the 'leftish' Dems running for president that kinda ballast your point. same with russian sanctions, although i'd be hard-pressed to bring them here now.
been awake since 2:30, up at 4:30, gotta go rest my weary eyes and bones.
thanks for reading and commenting, here's hoping/sending good vibrations that all is well w/ you, and that your partner's kidneys are working better.
Thanks, wendy!
She's going in on Wednesday to get the port for the dialysis put in (finally!).
That's step one.
Step two is starting dialysis/learning the machine, once she's healed up enough.
Step three is dealing with her congenital heart valve defect (apparently it's serious but not complex or particularly difficult to deal with, usually).
Then maybe we can see about getting her back on the active list for transplants.
So your good wishes are much appreciated!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Best wishes, CSTM
This is hard, but doable.
I hope she gets to the top of the transplant list!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
heart valve?
meaning 'sounds like a murmur'? okay, but bless your heart for shepherding thru it all. kidney transplants: so they need to be by way of matches? blood types, etc.? as i've said, caretaking a loved one thru it all is meritorious beyond belief.
side note: mr. wd just entered the Medical Machine after 25 years or more of the two of us not having done so. he's trying to take it one step at a time s well.
my love and (atheistic) prayers to you both,
wd
Thanks!
This is important information that will of course be overlooked by the MSM in their impeachment frenzy.
you may mean rather:
corporate news, as in the jpost retweeting 'imperfect christian Grenfell MAGA trumpeter living in malibu, sometimes gernmnay, lol. (takes clicking into his account; #hilarious!
Very interesting picture of
Kantal National Park, East Azarbaija, my poor old eyes appear to see half dome in the very far distance, meanwhile:
I find no other photos from Iran or Azerbaijan with combined topography, geology and flora that remotely resemble that, nor do ny other photos of that specific park.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Compare, for example:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlzych/7177769493/in/photolist-bWgWNr-rnBL...
Better yet, creative commons share alike picture posted with following attribution:
nakashi
Yosemite
Yosemite
and many more, I probably have some similar shots myself.
Have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
the photo remnded me of yosemite,
as well. ooof: yoou've proved that beyond a doubt: iranians are liars, and contra their protestations that nuclear bombs are against their religion: that's exactly the reason they've further backed out of the original JCPOA agreement step by step and are pretending their further nuclear enrichment is benign, and simply a wake-up call to the Eu andother signatories.
post hoc, ergo propter hoc: the US and Israel MUST bomb iran's nuclear installations with bunker-busting low-yield Nukes!
thank you, sea otter! i'd been asking for answers, and you've provided one!
Why do I suspect that few Iranians have been anywhere near
either place, and especially not any editors of The Tehran Times:
By Faranak Bakhtiari
Iranian northwestern national parks share incredible biodiversity, who wrote a companion piece:
By Faranak Bakhtiari
A peek at three astonishing national parks in central Iran.
Perhaps Faranak has also been to neither and was pranked by a "source". Assuming that he isn't a freelancer, I wonder what will happen when somebody at the paper or in government finds this out.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I think that this move
has more to do with Europe than Iran (since there has been no real transactions with INSTEX).
It looks like Europe is creating a Plan B.
Sometimes I think Europe is independent of the U.S.
I'm sure there are plenty of people there who would like to be; probably even some with power. And they do seem to preserve an independent judgement, usually.
I'm still shocked at the fact that Britain said no to going to war in Syria. Very pleasantly shocked, but wow--I don't think they've said "no" to a U.S. request for military assistance since the nineteenth century.
It's always reassuring to see signs that nation-states and regions of the world can preserve a judgement independent of the superpowers.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
and your guess even with
the additional six EU nations joining, there will be no transactions? i think there is another Plan B (or maybe C), and it has to do with the enrichment steps Iran made for 'wake-up calls' to the EU. 'out of compliance, therefore: more killing sanctions!'
and again, they're driving iran into the arms with other Great Competitors of the Western Imperium. 'there must be enemies', and 'all global power and influence is zero sum'.
Russia, China and Iran
are getting together for some war games soon. I'm betting it has something to do with us putting sanctions on every country that doesn't allow us to strip their resources and put their citizens on an austerity diet. Look at how many countries are buying Russian missile defense systems over our objections. Russia and China and some other countries are getting away from the dollar as payment. A bridge between Russia and China just opened up to make trading easier and both countries are building things for the betterment of their countries whilst we just keep building bombs and other destructive things and they are building up their countries while ours is being stripped of its assets. Dumb, dumb and dumb! Then there's all the natural gas lines being built all over Europe while we continue to bitch and moan about it. "Whaaa...our oil companies want you to buy from us at the more expensive prices."
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
i'd seen that about the
bridge on one of the iranian news sites, but not about the coming war games, although there's so much new and changing content...i could have missed it. FM zarif had talked about the Hormuz Peace Endeavour as a joint project, but that was on oct. 15.
but you're, those being Immiserated by the western hegemon make natural allies. and i love the hell outta zarif yelling at Pompeo & Trump on Twitter about their Economic Terrorism continually!
and one more time:
@JZarif Oct 10 "We all have grievances about the past.
Iran, after 8 yrs of regionally-financed aggression & 40 yrs of foreign-sponsored attacks, has much to complain about.
But as Rumi wrote 800 years ago: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
Thank you, Wendy--
you play a pretty big role in keeping me informed.
One of my least attractive qualities is my willingness to let others brave the poisonous media waters for me--or at least do some scouting before I venture out.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
welcome, amiga;
my pleasure. as an avowed anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, US and her client states' foreign debacles are of keen interest to me, candidates only when they bump into those issues, including virtue-signaling one stance, then voting a different way, or indicting a 'regime' as criminal, then chanting 'no regime change', equivocating rubbish like that.
the best we can do as bloggers, imo, is bear witness to those citizens in nations we've oppressed forever and anon, including those on turtle island resulting from amerika's original sins: the (continuing) genocide of first americans, and those brought here in change most unwillingly.
part of this more recent debacle with iran, of course, is Boss Tweet ratcheting up his love for the crown prince (of the glowing orb) of saudi arabia, as well as his partner in crime: bibi netenyahu, 'our partners in peace', fuck them all.
Sauron wants his palantir back.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
lol;
there really is a version w/ sauron photo-shopped in. how creepy can a real photo be? ask them!
whoa, nellie;
that sounded so preachy and ego-centric! what i should have said was 'for me' it's that way. it took a while twenty years ago at the TPM readers diaries for a 'mere woman' to be taken seriously on FP issues, especially calling out this 'Exceptional Nation' doing whatever it felt like militarily, naming any enemies who could be cited as needing to be R2P'ed then plundered, plundered for resources.
now at My.firedoglake, i did a lot of satire, back when i was able to actually string words together...and reported almost a decade ago on the eco-socialists of the global south calling out Capital's false solutions on a an increasingly warming planet.
i will admit that a few of my diaries there were help up until 'management' decided if they would be allowed to be seen, as they were a bit on the subversive side for a democrat website. ; )
yeah, well, this plan comes from france:
(i must have seen it alluded to briefly on iranian sites, but this is pretty detailed, while shilton mocks iran, to boot)):
‘Imperialist powers intensify pressure on Iranian regime in wake of protests’, Jordan Shilton, 30 November 2019, wsws.org (in part)
a fascinating take i'd never considered:
Have you seen this Twitter thread
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
yep, the phillip adams
email was definitely part of it all.
here's a bit of a round-up, can i pass it on to you in case you'd like to write it up?
‘Spanish judge to question Assange over illegal CIA spying in Ecuadorian embassy, Oscar Grenfell, 2 December 2019
(underneath that title at wsws, these didn't embed ass hotlinks):
Groundswell of support for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange
Hundreds attend London meeting to demand freedom for Julian Assange
(ruptly news had done some videos of the panel in london, but i can’t find them on youtube.)
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/11/29/john-pilger-visiting-britains-poli...
More
Germany is ticked off too because the Spanish company spied on them during their visit to see Assange. So much for the sovereignty of embassies. How many other embassies have we spied on? Oh well..Obama never paid a price for wiretapping Merkel's phone.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
ah, jeez, snoop;
my crap eyes/crap brain can't make any of it out by now. i'm folding like a cheap pup tent. but i did get this from philip adams's change.org today:
Spanish judge to question Julian Assange over Ecuador embassy spying claims
(as though he can speak)
B'ig News "British authorities will finally allow a videolink interview with the WikiLeaks founder in a probe against a security firm that allegedly sent illegally obtained material to the CIA"
and a link to sign the petition. anything similar to aaron? ah, i just saw randy credico's name in caps: craig murray had a whole essay dedicated to his pain in being part of the 'roger stone' conviction.
a lot to catch up on activism for julian, though. some claim 'the tide has turned'....
time for me to shut down &
go watch a poirot DVD.
tonight's lullabies will be:
Tehran Symphony Orchestra performs at Vahdat Hall, November 29, 2019
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xL8JclxhRQ]
and better:
Maestro Shardad Rohani conducts Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov with the Tehran symphony orchestra. Solo violin by Arsalan Kamkar, July, 2014
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTzI2MTwe08]
g' night.
Am I the only one who has difficulties to follow
and understand what is going on?
Isn't there an increase of folks shooting around and stealing stuff of (monetary and spiritual) value from some German museums these days?
Don't we have to be careful to not slide into the 'not-understanding-anything-but-Chinese' going over to the 'dark-side-of-insanities-loving-monsters'?
I always admire those folks here, who can follow and understand everything including Chinese.
Sigh. Nothing for Ungood. Peace. All of what you write is beyond my paygrade. Now do I deserve a higher pay or an admission ticket to the next department of the hospital for the emotionally and mentally sickly babes?
https://www.euronews.com/live
of course you're not
the only one; some ongoing issues need plenty of studying, researching, deciding what's agitprop, what's not...or the field between them.
yes, RT.com had a story about a major robbery of a (close to): green and gold museum, artwork pictured was formidable, but i hadn't clicked into the story.
lol; only you'd ask that, but keep your cool; it's okay not to get stuff. i experience that a lot, too, and english is my first (and really only) language.
sometimes I wished folks here would explain
how thee do their research. Do you have certain routines? Many articles trigger my curiosity to search for answers to the questions I have. If I don't have more than 2 to 3 hours per day and want to read all articles from the EB, lookout's weekly and gjohnsit's continually appearing articles plus some other authors ((snoopy's and your's for example) , I can't do that. Too many articles, too many names I can't remember and too many details and abbreviations I forget or have to look up again. All combined it slows me down.
Has that really something to do with being not a native English speaker? Or do I fall somehow under the acceptable strata of elderly people, who slow down and have some brain leakage?
In any case kudos to all of you writers here. Respect. Thanks, Wendy.
https://www.euronews.com/live
i'd guess we all have
different sites to check for issues we care deeply about, then when as with this one, i keep hunting for further info at websites and on Twitter. for instance, it's kept nagging me that it also may be that like the BRIICS development bank, capitalization of the banking alternative to the IMF and World Bank has been poorly funded.
so i just dug up a lengthy opinion cum explanation from which i'll try to bring excerpts, although things could have changed since July (with just the 3 EU member states).
you read a hella lot here, then, mimi, i rarely read or comment on many essays given the time it takes my slow brain to even to read, then copy/paste what's necessary evidence (or a related pysop/agitprop, busting weasel-worded articles or op-eds), for my own diaries, answer comments, etc.
so...you seem to have your plate very full, and unless you end up choosing which issues or venues you might like for deeper digging, say (for me): Assnange, I/P (israel/palestine) as well as the still unresolved israeli elections, genocidaire Modi's India, the continuing putsches and attempts to 'stem the pink tide' (socialistic nations in central and south amerika and cuba, the undeclared Wars on Iran, syria, yemen and russia, or Media Brand Busting...you'd have to choose.
me, i'm plum wore out for now, an hope snoopy might like to write up the links and titles on julian upthread, but she may be just a busy and worn out.
peace to you, ma soeur.
in your words, thanks amiga, my sister and muse
get some rest, will you?
https://www.euronews.com/live
welcome, and i will soon.
i actually got more than 4 1/2 hrs. sleep last night, which helped; there are so many new horrors to write just now, esp. in gaza and the west bank, colombia v. VZ.... and oh, fuck me: US to help ‘legitimate Latin American govts’ to PREVENT protests from ‘morphing into riots’ – Pompeo, 2 Dec, 2019, RTcom
just 4 U (the link urls are self-explanatory):
https://www.rt.com/news/474859-berlin-stasi-museum-robbed-dresden/
https://www.rt.com/news/474249-green-vault-germany-theft-jewels/
given that this morning i'd seen this
at tasnim news:
Iran’s Zarif, Omani Counterpart Meet in Tehran; Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Omani counterpart, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, held talks in Tehran on Monday’ ’December, 02, 2019
...it at least appears that he’s alive... and i checked his Twit account: one new one:
https://twitter.com/@molnlyckehc
these look to be great! Speech, Press, Academic Freedoms Threatened in West: American Expert; An American political expert described the US and other Western powers as “fantasy democracies” and said speech, press, and academic freedoms are threatened in these countries. (an interview w/stephen lendman)
and:
‘CIA behind Recent Unrest in Iran: Paul Craig Roberts; Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former US assistant secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy under President Ronald Reagan in 1981, said the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) orchestrated the recent riots in Iran over fuel price hike’, December, 02, 2019