Stop Fundamentalism – Iranian news reports say that four retired IRGC Generals have died in recent days amid rising tensions among leading military commanders of the force and the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
While the deaths have all been attributed to illnesses but the concurrence of the four death and the recent developments with another General’s critic of Khamenei for the way he is running the country, is raising suspicions.
General Alaie who wrote the letter to Khamenei just recently, published in a prominent Iranian state-run newspaper, has been under attacks by pro Khamenei factions for comparing the current situation of the country to that of before the 1979 revolution during Shah’s rule.
The internal feuding among factions of the Iranian government has been on the rise in recent weeks as international pressures have been mounting over this country’s suspicious nuclear program. Many observers including the International Energy Agency have expressed concerns that Iran’s nuclear program has military objectives.
The European Union put a ban on Iranian oil imports to Europe Monday and announced sanctions against its Central Bank. The United States welcomed the decision and Australia announced that it will join the ban a day after.
While Iran sells most of its oil to Fareast countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, but Central Bank sanctions implemented by Americans and their European allies will make trade with Iran very hard and risky for these countries. It has been said in news reports that some of these countries such as China and Japan are looking for alternative sources for fuel.
In Europe, Spain, Italy and Greece are the most major oil importers from Iran. Saudi Arabia recently promised Spain that it will compensate for the shortage.
