This has been a busy week for Iran in the news. Let's take a look.
In a typically ranting speech of the kind that may soon get him censured by the actual power in Iran, President Ahmadinejad has suggested that Iran is approaching the "summit of our nuclear path." In more material terms, Russia recently finished delivering nuclear fuel for Iran's first nuclear power station.
As I talked about last June, Iran faces a fundamental fuel issue that won't be solved by nuclear power -- gasoline. Although Iran is an oil exporter, it lacks refining capacity and has been hemorrhaging away its oil profits in the form of gasoline subsidies to keep fuel prices low inside the country. Last year's attempts to fix this situation by limiting fuel use went poorly. It's unclear to what extent nuclear power will lift this kind of cost pressure, but it's possible that the discovery of a massive gas field off the coast may help by providing even more capital to pay for all that fuel. However, as the article notes:
Iran has the world's second-largest proven gas reserves after Russia and it has ambitions to export gas to a host of countries including Armenia, Pakistan and Syria.
However, it has failed to become a major international exporter because of a lack of foreign investment and slow progress in exploiting its fields.
Despite its export plans, Iran had recently been forced to import gas from neighbouring Turkmenistan because of high domestic consumption.
Switching from resource management to social management, government spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi announced the arrest of fifty-four members of the prohibited Bahai faith. The officially allowed faiths in Iran are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism was presumably grandfathered in, as it precedes Islam in the area, and Judaism and Christianity get the special "religions of the book" exception. Bahai is in the unfortunate position of suggesting that it's a later (and better) successor to all these other faiths (you can read more about Bahai at the official website). Fifty-one of the convicts were given suspended sentences, provided they take "courses by state propaganda officials."
In the same press conference, Jamshidi indicated that a customs official was recently executed for corruption and bribery, while admitting that, yes, they don't usually execute people for corruption. On that note, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi ordered a limitation on public executions, and publication of execution photos.
Correspondents say it appears Ayatollah Shahrudi wants to lower the profile of executions as Iran has been widely criticised by Western countries and international organisations.
Iran has executed at least 28 convicts so far this year, according to media reports.
Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, serious drug trafficking, apostasy, adultery and male homosexuality.
Good to know.