Agencies-Gaza post
Iranian authorities seize ship carrying contraband fuel
Iranian authorities seized a ship carrying 90,000 liters of contraband fuel in the waters around Kish Island in the Gulf, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Thursday.
IRNA said in a press release that the captain and five other crew members were issued criminal warrants and detained, IRNA added.
Iran, which has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world due to heavy subsidies and a decline in its currency, has battled rampant fuel smuggling overland to neighboring states and by sea to Arab Gulf countries.
Iran stops suspicion of plotting with French spies
Iranian authorities detained a person accused of having a connection with two French nationals detained on charges of spying, state television reported Thursday. The report said the suspect was a Marxist who visited two French spies before International Workers’ Day on May 1, as part of a plot to “create unrest among workers”.
He did not disclose the sex of the suspect but said the person was arrested by the intelligence services as he tried to leave the country via the Western Azerbaijan province. The TV also claimed that the accused was tasked with rounding up workers and teachers for street protests.
In May, Iran confirmed that it had arrested two French citizens, Cecile Kohler, 37, and Chuck Paris, 69, saying they had met protesting teachers, took part in an anti-government demonstration, and organized a protest to create unrest in Iran.
France identified the two as a teachers union official and his partner who was on vacation in Iran.
In recent weeks, teachers have held several strikes and protests in cities across Iran, stepping out of their classrooms to press for better pay and working conditions.
