Russian Oil Exports To China Jump, Iran Shipments Continue

Following a report by Radio Farda that cited the self-proclaimed Russian-backed president of Ukraine Denis Pushilin as announcing the agreement, the Iranian government's news website IRNA quoted “an informed source” in the Iranian Foreign Ministry denying the report while another Iranian state-run media says the deal was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which was held in the city from June 15 to 18. 

According to the Young Journalists Club (YJC), a hardliner news outlet with links to the IRGC and an affiliate of the state broadcaster IRIB, Pushilin has said "The Donetsk People's Republic has a new partner now, and despite obstacles, our international economic relations are expanding.”

The agreement will see Iran supplying Donetsk with construction materials and horticultural products, including fruits and vegetables, while Donetsk, in turn, intends to export metals, cast iron, fertilizers, steel products, coal mining tools, as well as other types of mining equipment to Iran.

Radio Farda said that Pushilin mentioned Farnoush trade company – headquartered in Maku Free Zone in Iran’s West Azarbaijan province on the border with Turkey – as the company representing Iran in the agreement. 

Russia recognized the independence of two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in February, which practically paved the way for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and deployment of Russian troops there.

Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday, "The stability that we had built during our four years has now just been squandered and thrown away. They’re putting us all at risk."

While the Biden administration is hoping to “appease” Iran, it is possible that the Iranians could shut down the Strait of Hormuz and drive energy prices even higher, he said while enumerating challenges currently facing the administration ahead of Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which is reportedly aimed at reducing skyrocketing gas prices and confront Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Pompeo criticized Biden’s energy policy to fill the need for more oil and gas in the market from foreign sources, saying that instead of energy producers within the US, “they started with the Iranians and the Venezuelans and now have moved to the Saudis.” “American energy is the right place to start”, he added

"When you side with the Iranians, when you side with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, against Israel, and against Saudi Arabia, and against the Emirates, the leaders of those countries no longer have confidence in the United States, and the chance that they’re going to do a solid for Joe Biden is exceedingly low," he said.

Most columnists and commentators welcomed the recent resignation of Raisi's Labor Minister Hojjat Abdolmaleki but said that many more ministers will have to leave the cabinet.

Nonetheless, some commentators including Reformist lawmaker Naser Ghavami said replacing current ministers with new ones cannot solve Iran's economic problems. He added that even the best economists cannot tackle the ongoing economic crisis because the underlying reason for problems is the political system itself.

Ghavami charged that the government has made Iran dependant on Russia and China, adding that the two countries simply follow their own interests.

Former lawmaker Mohammad Reza Khabbaz asked: "Do not these minister feel any shame even before their own conscience for accepting to be in charge of key ministries? On what basis has Raisi appointed them as ministers? And what do those who suggested these individuals think about the situation now?"

Khabbaz said that many more ministers from Raisi's cabinet need to go. Meanwhile, he called those ministers who promised to create one million jobs or build one million houses every year, "liars." He further asked: "Isn't what they have been doing a waste of the country's resources and the nation's dignity?"

100%

Columnist Mohammad Shadi wrote in a commentary in Jahan Sanat newspaper that his publication has been in the market for nearly two decades and it was evident for its journalists that Raisi's ministers were not fit for their jobs. Shadi opined that at least two more economic ministers should leave the government.

Shadi wrote that Iran needs to prove that its economic policies are consistent with international norms if it wishes to attract foreign investment.

The new reformist daily Arman Emrooz, not to be mistaken with the very similar looking Arman Melli, wrote that "during the past ten months since Raisi took office, he has issued a major directive every 9 days. However, 3 out of every 4 orders have been ignored by those who had to carry them out."

The daily added: "Out of 37 official orders issued by Raisi, 27 of them have not been carried out at all, 6 have been carried out and another 4 have been abandoned halfway through their implementation."

Meanwhile, Tahmoures Hoseini wrote in an article in Toseh Irani newspaper: "Because of the government's performance, the divide between the people and officials has increasingly widened in recent years. The current government blames its predecessors and the members of the previous government blame the way elections are held in Iran.

The daily wrote that the rise in the number of protests is another indication of the government's failure while it keeps blaming the United States. The daily quoted Former lawmaker Gholamreza Jafarzadeh Imanabadi: "I should say clearly that I doubt the honesty of Raisi's economic team. Raisi needs to reshuffle his government and try to meet the promises he made to the people for their votes."

Economist Albert Boghossian wrote in Setareh Sobh that most of the complaints about the government have something to do with Raisi's broken promises. ‌Boghossian also added that neither Raisi nor his economic team can make any difference while the system does not allow for reforms.

Despite all this, the administration-owned daily, Iran, says all is well, and quotes Raisi as saying, "There is no problem in Iran that cannot be solved."

According to a report by Shargh Daily on Sunday, there are long queues of cattle at slaughterhouses as the supply is high and demand low due to the dire economic situation in the country.

The chairman of the Livestock Supply Council, Mansour Purian, said the livestock have become weak and lost a lot of weight, adding that such cheap cattle have a lot of customers in the Arab countries, so smugglers sell these half-dead cows to them to be fed on their equipped farms. 

On the other hand, low purchasing power by Iranians has drastically reduced the demand for meat by as much as 50 percent in the past year, which has caused many small farmers to be eliminated from the supply chain.

Criticizing the government’s decision to increase livestock feed prices, Nasser Ostad-Ahmadi, the managing director of one of Iran’s largest farmers' cooperatives, told the daily that “in the history of Iranian animal husbandry, both before and after the revolution, it had never been seen that the government increases the price of a commodity sixfold overnight.

Soybean meal, barley and corn for livestock and chicken feed are mainly imported from Russia and other countries. Any shortages or higher prices can push up the price of meat further.

In a phone conversation with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said “in order to reach a good and lasting agreement, it is necessary for the other side to give up its double standards and contradictory behavior."

He added that the Islamic Republic still believes that "diplomacy is the best and most appropriate" solution to the outstanding issues on the revival of the deal,” reiterating that "Iran has never distanced itself from the negotiating table.”

“If the United States wants to continue its unconstructive behavior, it will face our proportionate response," Amir-Abdollahian emphasized.

The resolution called on Iran to engage with the IAEA without delay and expressed “profound concern” at Iran’s failure to satisfy the agency over traces of uranium found at three undeclared sites and highlighted earlier in June in a report by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

The resolution came as year-long talks paused since March between Iran and five world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

Following the resolution, Iran retaliated, telling the IAEA it plans to remove more monitoring equipment, but intends to maintain a basic level of monitoring and inspectors’ access as required under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).