By INU Staff

INU- It was reported on Thursday that Iranian authorities are supposedly planning the release of thousands of prisoners, as part of the ongoing commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s founding. Although some reports indicate that the number may run as high as 50,000, Iranian state media has been vague about the extent of the clemency gesture. Even less clear is the nature of the offenses for which sentences will be vacated or commuted. But statements from relevant officials suggest that the judiciary’s move will not be focused on political prisoners and that even if such persons are among those released, the regime will not acknowledge the political nature of their arrests.

The people of Iran have spent 12 months protesting and holding anti-government demonstrations because of the regime’s corruption that is behind the deterioration of their lives, the country’s economy and the environmental issues the country is struggling with.

As Reuters reported on Tuesday, representatives of Syria’s Assad regime and the Islamic Republic of Iran entered into new banking transfer agreements following a meeting in Damascus. The move is being viewed as an opportunity for the two countries to expand upon their increasingly close alliance and to bolster trade while potentially circumventing US sanctions that have increased in strength since President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last May.

By Mahmoud Hakamian

Poverty in Iran is becoming more and more common as the economy continues to struggle. Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, he has vowed to deal with the Iranian regime in the toughest possible way. And he has been true to his word.

After pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Trump announced that the crippling economic sanctions that were lifted when the nuclear deal was agreed would be re-imposed. Since this announcement, the economy of Iran has been heading in a downwards spiral. The value of the national currency – the rial – has plummeted.

On Tuesday, the commander of Iran’s Basij civilian paramilitary boosted the regime’s rhetoric in matters of foreign policy when he declared that the country was facing supposedly coordinated “full-scale war” from its leading adversaries, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. His remarks before a gathering in Tehran come at a time when Iranian officials are working to present a recent terrorist attack on an Iranian military parade as being connected to those foreign powers, although they have not presented any evidence to support the claim.

On Wednesday, the United States will be chairing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council which will be focused on non-proliferation, and in which much of the discussion is expected to emphasize the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Indeed, US President Donald Trump previously announced that Iran’s malign behavior would dominate the agenda, before scaling back on this provocative move, presumably under pressure from critics.