Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears in the wake of recent anti-government protests to have put his weight behind President Hasan Rouhani&rsquo;s repeated calls for reduced military and Revolutionary Guards involvement in the economy.

Mr. Khamenei signalled his support by ordering the military and the Guards to start&nbsp;divesting from commercial holdings and businesses&nbsp;not related to their core tasks except for construction projects considered essential by the government.

The order serves not only to address protesters&rsquo; grievances that were sparked in part by losses suffered by millions of Iranians a result of the&nbsp;collapse of fraudulent financial institutions&nbsp;with links to the Guards and other public institutions. The financial entities lured investors with high interest rates that they could not pay.

Mr. Khamenei&rsquo;s order could also sweeten Iranian efforts to persuade Europe to put in place legal measures that would allow it to invest in the Islamic republic even if the United States imposes new sanctions and withdraws from the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran&rsquo;s nuclear program.

Europe shares many of the United States&rsquo; concern about the role of the Guards in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East and the fact that it runs Iran&rsquo;s ballistic missile program but has insisted that the agreement should be maintained.

A target of US sanctions, the Guards reportedly are not opposed to a reduced stake that analysts say accounts for as much as&nbsp;30 percent of the Iranian economy. The Guards operate, among others, Khatam al Anbia, a huge construction company with tens of thousands of employees that is involved in civil development, the oil industry and defense businesses. The Guards build roads, operate ports, manage telecommunication networks, and own business in sectors as far flung as finance and medical.

The &ldquo;top brass have realized that running companies is actually not their competency. The poor management has been a drag on the economy and--as seen in the recent #IranProtests--a risk to internal security and to the prestige of the armed forces,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, an Iran analyst, commentator and business consultant.

In a world in which everything is interlinked, disinvestment by the Guards and military as well as other public institutions like the Social Security Organization, Iran&rsquo;s largest pension fund, would involve privatization in a country that has found it difficult to attract foreign investment because of the threat of a re-imposition of US sanctions conditionally lifted as part of the nuclear agreement.

US President has threatened&nbsp;not to renew US sanctions relief&nbsp;in May if Europe and the US Congress failed to work towards an agreement with Iran on an addition to the nuclear accord that would restrict Iranian missile testing and development, provide for expanded inspections of Iranian facilities, and extend prohibitions on nuclear-weapons work. Iran insists that the accord&nbsp;cannot be renegotiated.

Europe has been pressing the Trump administration not to walk away from the accord. Iranian officials have&nbsp;suggested&nbsp;that Tehran would adhere to the nuclear deal in case of a US walkout provided that it served its interests.

For Iran to see continued merit in the deal, it would have to believe that European companies would remain interested in investing in the Islamic republic. That would require the European Union adopting legislation that would shield European companies from US secondary sanctions that would target non-American entities invested in Iran.

Privatization of military and Guards-owned companies, given Iran&rsquo;s undercapitalized financial markets and its small pool of viable domestic investors, would depend on foreign investors, who in turn are unlikely to risk being penalized by potential renewed secondary US sanctions.

&ldquo;Europe should put in place a viable contingency plan if the United States continues backtracking on the deal and let Washington know it&rsquo;s ready to use it&hellip; Europe will need to present a package (together with China and Russia) that can entice Iran to continue abiding by the core elements of the current nuclear agreement,&rdquo; said Iran expert&nbsp;Ellie Geranmayeh.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Ms. Geranmayeh argued that Europe should initially attempt to secure from the United States exceptions to the potential sanctions modelled on the US penalties imposed on Russia that provide relief from enforcement for European companies.

&ldquo;If Washington refuses this approach, European governments should publicly warn that in any instance where the U.S. Treasury actively enforces secondary sanctions targeting European companies dealing with Iran, the European Union will revive measures similar to its &lsquo;blocking regulation&rsquo;,&rdquo; Ms. Geranmayeh argued.

The blocking regulation adopted by the European Union in 1996 thwarted then US President Bill Clinton&rsquo;s attempt to force Europe and others to abide by US sanctions on Libya, Iran and Cuba. The regulation made it illegal for European companies to abide by US sanctions, gave them legal cover to refuse payment of US fines, and opened the door to the EU penalizing US companies in retaliation.

In practice, European companies, if forced to choose between doing business with the United States or Iran, would likely opt to steer clear of the Islamic republic. The EU would be banking on the expectation that the Trump administration would ultimately opt to compromise in a bid to avoid a deterioration of trans-Atlantic relations.

In announcing Mr. Khamenei&rsquo;s support for reducing the stake in the economy of the military and the Guards,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iran-newspaper.com/newspaper/item/454808">Iranian defense minister Amir Hatami</a>&nbsp;cautioned that &ldquo;the degree of our success depends on market conditions and the possibility of divestment.&rdquo;

Said&nbsp;Mr. Batmanghelidj: &ldquo;If success in privatization is to be achieved&hellip;Iran&#39;s equity market investors will need foreign investors to help carry the burden and unlock the opportunity.&rdquo;

With little insight into what entities will be put up for sale, European investors, even if the EU puts legal protections in place or cuts a deal with the United States, like their Russian and Chinese counterparts, are likely to take a wait-and-see attitude. That could put efforts to reduce the military and Guards&rsquo; economic stake in jeopardy, catching it between the rock of lack of Iranian transparency and the hard place of weak domestic financial markets and a limited pool of investors.

If that were not enough, Saudi efforts to counter Iran could further dampen foreign investor appetite. In a sign of the times, South Korean construction company POSCO Engineering &amp; Construction in which Saudi Arabia&#39;s Public Investment Fund has a 38 percent stake&nbsp;cancelled a $1.6 billion contract to build a steel mill&nbsp;in Iran because of objections by the company&rsquo;s two Saudi board members.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has supported the call for reduced military and Revolutionary Guards involvement in the economy

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears in the wake of recent anti-government protests to have put his weight behind President Hasan Rouhani’s repeated calls for reduced military and Revolutionary Guards involvement in the economy. Mr. Khamenei signalled his support by ordering the military and the Guards to start divesting from commercial holdings and businesses not related to their core tasks except for construction projects considered essential by the government. The order serves not only to address protesters’ grievances that were sparked in part by losses suffered by millions of Iranians a result of the collapse of fraudulent financial institutions with links to the Guards and other public institutions. The financial entities lured investors with high interest rates that they could not pay. Mr. Khamenei’s order could also sweeten Iranian efforts to persuade Europe to put in place legal measures that would allow it to invest in the Islamic republic even if the United States imposes new sanctions and withdraws from the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear program. Europe shares many of the United States’ concern about the role of the Guards in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East and the fact that it runs Iran’s ballistic missile program but has insisted that the agreement should be maintained. A target of US sanctions, the Guards reportedly are not opposed to a reduced stake that analysts say accounts for as much as 30 percent of the Iranian economy. The Guards operate, among others, Khatam al Anbia, a huge construction company with tens of thousands of employees that is involved in civil development, the oil industry and defense businesses. The Guards build roads, operate ports, manage telecommunication networks, and own business in sectors as far flung as finance and medical. The “top brass have realized that running companies is actually not their competency. The poor management has been a drag on the economy and--as seen in the recent #IranProtests--a risk to internal security and to the prestige of the armed forces,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, an Iran analyst, commentator and business consultant. In a world in which everything is interlinked, disinvestment by the Guards and military as well as other public institutions like the Social Security Organization, Iran’s largest pension fund, would involve privatization in a country that has found it difficult to attract foreign investment because of the threat of a re-imposition of US sanctions conditionally lifted as part of the nuclear agreement. US President has threatened not to renew US sanctions relief in May if Europe and the US Congress failed to work towards an agreement with Iran on an addition to the nuclear accord that would restrict Iranian missile testing and development, provide for expanded inspections of Iranian facilities, and extend prohibitions on nuclear-weapons work. Iran insists that the accord cannot be renegotiated. Europe has been pressing the Trump administration not to walk away from the accord. Iranian officials have suggested that Tehran would adhere to the nuclear deal in case of a US walkout provided that it served its interests. For Iran to see continued merit in the deal, it would have to believe that European companies would remain interested in investing in the Islamic republic. That would require the European Union adopting legislation that would shield European companies from US secondary sanctions that would target non-American entities invested in Iran. Privatization of military and Guards-owned companies, given Iran’s undercapitalized financial markets and its small pool of viable domestic investors, would depend on foreign investors, who in turn are unlikely to risk being penalized by potential renewed secondary US sanctions. “Europe should put in place a viable contingency plan if the United States continues backtracking on the deal and let Washington know it’s ready to use it… Europe will need to present a package (together with China and Russia) that can entice Iran to continue abiding by the core elements of the current nuclear agreement,” said Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh. Writing in Foreign Policy, Ms. Geranmayeh argued that Europe should initially attempt to secure from the United States exceptions to the potential sanctions modelled on the US penalties imposed on Russia that provide relief from enforcement for European companies. “If Washington refuses this approach, European governments should publicly warn that in any instance where the U.S. Treasury actively enforces secondary sanctions targeting European companies dealing with Iran, the European Union will revive measures similar to its ‘blocking regulation’,” Ms. Geranmayeh argued. The blocking regulation adopted by the European Union in 1996 thwarted then US President Bill Clinton’s attempt to force Europe and others to abide by US sanctions on Libya, Iran and Cuba. The regulation made it illegal for European companies to abide by US sanctions, gave them legal cover to refuse payment of US fines, and opened the door to the EU penalizing US companies in retaliation. In practice, European companies, if forced to choose between doing business with the United States or Iran, would likely opt to steer clear of the Islamic republic. The EU would be banking on the expectation that the Trump administration would ultimately opt to compromise in a bid to avoid a deterioration of trans-Atlantic relations. In announcing Mr. Khamenei’s support for reducing the stake in the economy of the military and the Guards, Iranian defense minister Amir Hatami cautioned that “the degree of our success depends on market conditions and the possibility of divestment.” Said Mr. Batmanghelidj: “If success in privatization is to be achieved…Iran's equity market investors will need foreign investors to help carry the burden and unlock the opportunity.” With little insight into what entities will be put up for sale, European investors, even if the EU puts legal protections in place or cuts a deal with the United States, like their Russian and Chinese counterparts, are likely to take a wait-and-see attitude. That could put efforts to reduce the military and Guards’ economic stake in jeopardy, catching it between the rock of lack of Iranian transparency and the hard place of weak domestic financial markets and a limited pool of investors. If that were not enough, Saudi efforts to counter Iran could further dampen foreign investor appetite. In a sign of the times, South Korean construction company POSCO Engineering & Construction in which Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has a 38 percent stake cancelled a $1.6 billion contract to build a steel mill in Iran because of objections by the company’s two Saudi board members. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Threatened by US sanctions, Iran focuses on economic thinking

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, called on the international community to speak out on the unfolding protests in Iran, saying the US would seek emergency UN talks on the situation.

&quot;The people of Iran are crying out for freedom,&quot; Haley said at a news conference. &quot;All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause.&quot;

She said the United States would be seeking emergency sessions of the UN Security Council and the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission in the coming days.

Haley rejected as &quot;complete nonsense&quot; charges by Iran&#39;s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the five-day-old protests were being fomented by the country&#39;s &quot;enemies.&quot;

&quot;The freedoms that are enshrined in the United Nations charter are under attack in Iran. Dozens have already been killed. Hundreds have been arrested,&quot; she said.

&quot;If the Iranian dictatorship&#39;s history is any guide, we can expect more outrageous abuses in the days to come,&quot; she said.

'The people of Iran are crying out for freedom, all freedom-loving people must stand with their cause,' Haley said at a news conference

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, called on the international community to speak out on the unfolding protests in Iran, saying the US would seek emergency UN talks on the situation. "The people of Iran are crying out for freedom," Haley said at a news conference. "All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause." She said the United States would be seeking emergency sessions of the UN Security Council and the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission in the coming days. Haley rejected as "complete nonsense" charges by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the five-day-old protests were being fomented by the country's "enemies." "The freedoms that are enshrined in the United Nations charter are under attack in Iran. Dozens have already been killed. Hundreds have been arrested," she said. "If the Iranian dictatorship's history is any guide, we can expect more outrageous abuses in the days to come," she said.

US envoy calls for emergency UN session on Iran

Iran&#39;s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls a financial empire worth an estimated $95 billion, reports said.

The assets are not directly in the name of Khamenei and are far greater than the wealth accumulated by the late Shah, the deposed pro-Western monarch.

According to Reuters, assets often based on property seizures have been acquired by an organisation called Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam under Ayatollah Khamenei&#39;s authority.&nbsp;

A six-month investigation revealed that Setad had expanded into a business juggernaut in the past six years, to hold stakes in every sector of the Iranian economy.&nbsp;

This included finance, oil, telecommunications, production of contraception pills and even ostrich farming.

Its dramatic growth has attracted the attention of the US treasury department, which imposed sanctions on the organisation last year after branding it &quot;a massive network of front companies hiding assets on behalf of Iran&#39;s leadership&quot;.

The value of Setad&#39;s assets was 40 per cent higher than Iran&#39;s total oil revenues for the past year.

The value exceeds the presumed riches of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was ousted in the 1979 revolution that brought the current Islamic regime to power.

While there is little evidence that Ayatollah Khamenei, renowned for a spartan lifestyle, had used the assets to enrich himself, Reuters reported that they had enabled him to consolidate his power and position himself above the regime&#39;s rival factions.

The assets include properties confiscated from business people and Iranians living abroad.&nbsp;

The assets are not directly in the name of Khamenei

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls a financial empire worth an estimated $95 billion, reports said. The assets are not directly in the name of Khamenei and are far greater than the wealth accumulated by the late Shah, the deposed pro-Western monarch. According to Reuters, assets often based on property seizures have been acquired by an organisation called Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam under Ayatollah Khamenei's authority. A six-month investigation revealed that Setad had expanded into a business juggernaut in the past six years, to hold stakes in every sector of the Iranian economy. This included finance, oil, telecommunications, production of contraception pills and even ostrich farming. Its dramatic growth has attracted the attention of the US treasury department, which imposed sanctions on the organisation last year after branding it "a massive network of front companies hiding assets on behalf of Iran's leadership". The value of Setad's assets was 40 per cent higher than Iran's total oil revenues for the past year. The value exceeds the presumed riches of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was ousted in the 1979 revolution that brought the current Islamic regime to power. While there is little evidence that Ayatollah Khamenei, renowned for a spartan lifestyle, had used the assets to enrich himself, Reuters reported that they had enabled him to consolidate his power and position himself above the regime's rival factions. The assets include properties confiscated from business people and Iranians living abroad.

Iran's supreme leader Khamenei has assets worth $95 billion: Report

Saudi&nbsp;Arabia&#39;s powerful&nbsp;Crown&nbsp;Prince&nbsp;called the Supreme&nbsp;Leader&nbsp;of&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;&quot;the new Hitler of the Middle East&quot; in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals.

The Sunni Muslim kingdom of&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabia and Shi&#39;ite&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;back rival sides in wars and political crises throughout the region.

Mohammed bin Salman, who is also&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;defence minister in the US-allied oil giant kingdom, suggested the Islamic Republic&#39;s alleged expansion under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needed to be confronted.

&quot;But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn&#39;t work. We don&#39;t want the new Hitler in&nbsp;Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East,&quot; the paper quoted him as saying.

Tensions soared this month when Lebanon&#39;s&nbsp;Saudi-allied Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in a television broadcast from Riyadh, citing the influence of&nbsp;Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and risks to his life.

Hezbollah called the move an act of war engineered by&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;authorities, an accusation they denied.

Hariri has since suspended his resignation.

Saudi&nbsp;Arabia has launched thousands of air strikes in a 2-1/2-year-old war in neighbouring Yemen to defeat the&nbsp;Iranian-aligned Houthi movement that seized broad swaths of the country.

Salman told the Times that the war was going in its favour and that its allies controlled 85 percent of Yemen&#39;s territory.

The Houthis, however, still retain the main population centres despite the war effort by a&nbsp;Saudi-led military coalition which receives intelligence and refuelling for its warplanes by the United States. Some 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

The group launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh&#39;s main airport on Nov. 4, which&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabis decried as an act of war by Tehran.

Bin Salman said in May that the kingdom would make sure any future struggle between the two countries &quot;is waged in&nbsp;Iran&quot;.

For his part, Khamenei has referred to the House of Saud as an &quot;accursed tree&quot;, and&nbsp;Iranian officials have accused the kingdom of spreading terrorism.

Saudi?Arabia's powerful?Crown?Prince?called the Supreme?Leader?of?Iran?"the new Hitler of the Middle East" in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals

Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince called the Supreme Leader of Iran "the new Hitler of the Middle East" in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals. The Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran back rival sides in wars and political crises throughout the region. Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Saudi defence minister in the US-allied oil giant kingdom, suggested the Islamic Republic's alleged expansion under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needed to be confronted. "But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn't work. We don't want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East," the paper quoted him as saying. Tensions soared this month when Lebanon's Saudi-allied Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in a television broadcast from Riyadh, citing the influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and risks to his life. Hezbollah called the move an act of war engineered by Saudi authorities, an accusation they denied. Hariri has since suspended his resignation. Saudi Arabia has launched thousands of air strikes in a 2-1/2-year-old war in neighbouring Yemen to defeat the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement that seized broad swaths of the country. Salman told the Times that the war was going in its favour and that its allies controlled 85 percent of Yemen's territory. The Houthis, however, still retain the main population centres despite the war effort by a Saudi-led military coalition which receives intelligence and refuelling for its warplanes by the United States. Some 10,000 people have died in the conflict. The group launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh's main airport on Nov. 4, which Saudi Arabis decried as an act of war by Tehran. Bin Salman said in May that the kingdom would make sure any future struggle between the two countries "is waged in Iran". For his part, Khamenei has referred to the House of Saud as an "accursed tree", and Iranian officials have accused the kingdom of spreading terrorism.

'New Hitler' in Iran should not repeat what happened in Europe: Saudi?Crown?Prince Salman

Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader called on Palestinians on Tuesday to pursue an uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a &quot;cancerous tumour&quot; that should be confronted until Palestinians were completely liberated.

&quot;... by Allah&rsquo;s permission, we will see that this intifada will begin a very important chapter in the history of fighting and that it will inflict another defeat on that usurping regime,&quot; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to his website.

The Supreme Leader&rsquo;s bellicose comments, made during a two-day conference in Tehran focused on its support for the Palestinians, come at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric between Iran, Israel and the United States.

While on a visit to Washington last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel and the United States had a &quot;grand mission&quot; to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has already been highly critical of a deal hammered out between Iran and world powers, including the United States, in 2015 intended to partially lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Iran says its programme is for purely peaceful means.

When Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump&rsquo;s then national security adviser Mike Flynn said the administration was putting Iran &quot;on notice&quot;.

Ordinary Iranians have been posting their concerns about a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States on social media.

Khamenei did not mention any Iranian military attack against Israel in his comments on Tuesday and was focused on gains that Palestinians could make in any confrontation with Israel, which he described as tumour developing into &quot;the current disaster&quot;. &nbsp;

&quot;The Palestinian intifada continues to gallop forward in a thunderous manner so that it can achieve its other goals until the complete liberation of Palestine,&quot; he said, according to the transcript of the speech posted on his website.

(Reuters)

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments?come at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric between Iran, Israel and the United States

Iran’s Supreme Leader called on Palestinians on Tuesday to pursue an uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a "cancerous tumour" that should be confronted until Palestinians were completely liberated. "... by Allah’s permission, we will see that this intifada will begin a very important chapter in the history of fighting and that it will inflict another defeat on that usurping regime," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to his website. The Supreme Leader’s bellicose comments, made during a two-day conference in Tehran focused on its support for the Palestinians, come at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric between Iran, Israel and the United States. While on a visit to Washington last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel and the United States had a "grand mission" to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran. US President Donald Trump has already been highly critical of a deal hammered out between Iran and world powers, including the United States, in 2015 intended to partially lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. Iran says its programme is for purely peaceful means. When Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump’s then national security adviser Mike Flynn said the administration was putting Iran "on notice". Ordinary Iranians have been posting their concerns about a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States on social media. Khamenei did not mention any Iranian military attack against Israel in his comments on Tuesday and was focused on gains that Palestinians could make in any confrontation with Israel, which he described as tumour developing into "the current disaster". "The Palestinian intifada continues to gallop forward in a thunderous manner so that it can achieve its other goals until the complete liberation of Palestine," he said, according to the transcript of the speech posted on his website. (Reuters)

Iran Supreme Leader calls on Palestinians to pursue uprising against Israel

Iranian Paralympic cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad died Saturday after crashing in the C4-5 race.&nbsp; 
 
The 48-year-old athlete fell in the first section of a mountainous descent. 
 
The International Paralympic Committee said the athlete received immediate treatment at the site but died of his injuries while being transported to hospital.&nbsp; 
 
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence told reporters, &quot;The athlete received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered a cardiac arrest. The ambulance then diverted to the nearby Unimed Rio Hospital in Barra where he passed away soon after arrival.&quot; 
 
Paralympic officials broke the news to Golbarnezhad&#39;s family in Iran. His teammates too were shocked to hear the news during a meeting at the Athletes&#39; Village. 
 
&quot;The Paralympic Family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio,&quot; said IPC President Philip Craven, calling it a sad news for the sport.&nbsp; 
 
The Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village to honour Golbarnezhad. A minute of silence will be held during Sunday&#39;s closing ceremony. 
 
The cyclist, who wore a prosthesis on his left leg, took up the sport in 2002 and competed at the London 2012 Paralympics. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Dismissing negotiations with the US, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said their aim is to undermine Iran's presence in the region

Iranian Paralympic cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad died Saturday after crashing in the C4-5 race. The 48-year-old athlete fell in the first section of a mountainous descent. The International Paralympic Committee said the athlete received immediate treatment at the site but died of his injuries while being transported to hospital. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence told reporters, "The athlete received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered a cardiac arrest. The ambulance then diverted to the nearby Unimed Rio Hospital in Barra where he passed away soon after arrival." Paralympic officials broke the news to Golbarnezhad's family in Iran. His teammates too were shocked to hear the news during a meeting at the Athletes' Village. "The Paralympic Family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio," said IPC President Philip Craven, calling it a sad news for the sport. The Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village to honour Golbarnezhad. A minute of silence will be held during Sunday's closing ceremony. The cyclist, who wore a prosthesis on his left leg, took up the sport in 2002 and competed at the London 2012 Paralympics. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Iran's supreme leader Khamenei warns against US intervention in regional conflicts

Iran&#39;s supreme leader has blasted as &quot;foolishness&quot; a decision by Bahrain&#39;s leaders to strip a top Shi&#39;ite Muslim cleric of his citizenship, and said it could provoke violence from Shi&#39;ites, who make up the majority in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom. 
 
The speech by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, carried by state media, came after Bahrain&#39;s Sunni authorities stepped up measures against the island&#39;s Shi&#39;ites and stripped their spiritual leader, Ayatollah Isa Qassim, of his citizenship. 
 
&quot;This is blatant foolishness and insanity. When he still could address the Bahraini people, Sheikh Isa Qassim... would advise against radical and armed actions,&quot; Khamenei said in remarks carried by state television today. 
 
&quot;Attacking Sheikh Isa Qassim means removing all obstacles blocking heroic Bahraini youths from attacking the regime.&quot; 
 
Bahrain in 2011 put down an uprising led by Shi&#39;ites demanding reforms. Since then, there have been almost daily skirmishes between Shi&#39;ite youths and security forces, as well as several bomb attacks. 
 
Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting unrest among its Shi&#39;ite population and providing financial and material support, a charge Tehran denies. 
 
In a series of moves over the past three weeks, authorities also closed down the main Shi&#39;ite opposition al-Wefaq Islamic Society, doubled the prison sentence on the group&#39;s leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, and detained prominent rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab. 
 
(Reuters)

The island's Sunni authorities stepped up measures against the Shi'ite majority and stripped their spiritual leader of his citizenship

Iran's supreme leader has blasted as "foolishness" a decision by Bahrain's leaders to strip a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric of his citizenship, and said it could provoke violence from Shi'ites, who make up the majority in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom. The speech by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, carried by state media, came after Bahrain's Sunni authorities stepped up measures against the island's Shi'ites and stripped their spiritual leader, Ayatollah Isa Qassim, of his citizenship. "This is blatant foolishness and insanity. When he still could address the Bahraini people, Sheikh Isa Qassim... would advise against radical and armed actions," Khamenei said in remarks carried by state television today. "Attacking Sheikh Isa Qassim means removing all obstacles blocking heroic Bahraini youths from attacking the regime." Bahrain in 2011 put down an uprising led by Shi'ites demanding reforms. Since then, there have been almost daily skirmishes between Shi'ite youths and security forces, as well as several bomb attacks. Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting unrest among its Shi'ite population and providing financial and material support, a charge Tehran denies. In a series of moves over the past three weeks, authorities also closed down the main Shi'ite opposition al-Wefaq Islamic Society, doubled the prison sentence on the group's leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, and detained prominent rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab. (Reuters)

Bahrain's move against top Shia cleric risks violence, says Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei