IRANIAN CRISIS

Question 1

WHY IN NEWS?

Answer 1

Iran is currently experiencing a significant wave of CIVIL unrest.

Question 2

IRAN - HISTORY

Answer 2

Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran,is a country in Western Asia.

Capital and largest city- Tehran

The 1979 Revolution, later known as the Islamic Revolution, began in January 1978 with the
first major demonstrations against the Shah. After a year of strikes and demonstrations paralyzing the country and its economy, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled to the United States, and Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran in February 1979, forming a new government.

On 22 September 1980, the Iraqi army invaded the western Iranian province of Khuzestan, initiating the Iran–Iraq War.

The Leader of the Revolution (“Supreme Leader”) is responsible for delineation and supervision of the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian president has limited power compared to the Supreme Leader Khamenei. The current long time Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has been issuing decrees and making the final decisions on the economy, environment, foreign policy, education, national planning, and everything else in the country.

The president-elect is required to gain the Leader Khamenei’s official approval before being sworn in before the Parliament .

The parliament of Iran is called MAJLIS.

Question 3

timeline of protest

Answer 3

The 2019–20 Iranian protests started on 15 November in Ahvaz, spreading across the country within hours, after the government announced increases in the fuel price of up to 300%

On 3 January 2020, the revolutionary guard’s general, Qasem Soleimani, was assassinated by the United States in Iraq, which considerably heightened the existing tensions between the two countries.

Three days after, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a retaliatory attack on US forces in Iraq and by accident shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, killing 176 civilians and leading to nation-wide protests.

Question 4

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

Answer 4

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany)together with the European Union.

In May 2018 the United States withdrew from JCPOA as Trump pledged he would negotiate a better deal.

Question 5

INSTEX

Answer 5

The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is a European special-purpose vehicle (SPV) established on 31 January 2019. Its mission is to facilitate non-USD and non-SWIFT transactions with Iran to avoid breaking U.S. sanctions.

Five EU nations declared in a joint statement on 29 November 2019 that they will join the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran. These countries are Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.

headquartered in Paris and is headed by Per Fischer, who formerly served as Head of Financial Institutions at Commerzbank, between 2003 and 2014.
MEMBERS
A trade mechanism ‘Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX)’
was established by France, Germany and the United Kingdom in January
2019 to allow European entities to maintain trade with Iran.