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00:00:00and
00:00:00world
00:00:08stay with us for the latest developments
00:00:10in the
00:00:15World Cup. We are with
00:00:17you.
00:00:21This is London, BBC Radio. 8 PM Tehran time.
00:00:25Most incoming and outgoing flights to Saudi Arabia canceled
00:00:29after Houthi attacks. What solution does Saudi Arabia
00:00:32have against the escalation of Yemen's attacks?
00:00:35I think it's around 500,000 Tomans, but it's not
00:00:39definite yet, but around 500,000. The promise
00:00:42to increase the value of food stamps in Iran. The parliament
00:00:46opposes the government's implementation method. Critics say
00:00:50it is not in line with inflation, and we will address the debate
00:00:53over women's hijab in stadiums, from the closure
00:00:57of sports complexes to the cancellation of competitions.
00:01:01We ask about women's issues in sports in Iran. How
00:01:04serious are the new restrictions? All this
00:01:07and more in the next half
00:01:09hour.
00:01:18Good evening. You are listening to BBC Radio. Today
00:01:21is Monday, October 20th, 1405. You
00:01:25are listening to the Jahan-Nama program,
00:01:28and I am Farnoush Amirshahi, along with Mina Joshqani,
00:01:32the producer of this program. In the next half hour, we will be your hosts.
00:01:35Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen have escalated, and now
00:01:39more countries are concerned about the escalation of tensions
00:01:43to regional countries. The Houthis continued their missile
00:01:47and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, causing widespread disruption
00:01:50to flights across the country. Riyadh International Airport
00:01:54has almost suspended all its flights. Saudi Arabia
00:01:58has promised a serious response. Inside Yemen, clashes
00:02:02between official government forces supported by Saudi Arabia
00:02:05have focused on the southern province. In
00:02:09another development, the British Prime Minister
00:02:12said that the suspicious plot that targeted Fairford
00:02:15Air Base in Britain was most likely, in his words,
00:02:19coordinated in Iran and almost certainly
00:02:23under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Farah
00:02:26Nasimi, my colleague, is here in the studio with us. Farah, let's
00:02:30start with the latest. What more information has the British
00:02:34Prime Minister provided? Andy Pham was speaking in the British
00:02:38House of Commons and said that this suspicious incident
00:02:41that occurred at Fairford Base, as you said, was most likely
00:02:44coordinated in Iran, but was definitely
00:02:48carried out by the Revolutionary that Britain will
00:02:51no longer tolerate such threats
00:02:55and will deal with Iran's use of criminal networks.
00:02:58He promised that more sanctions would be imposed against the Islamic
00:03:02Republic to limit the Revolutionary Guards' ability to harm Britain.
00:03:06We know that Fairford Base was
00:03:09used by the United States to direct its bombers for attacks
00:03:12on Iran from there. Admiral Bend, the British
00:03:16Foreign Secretary, also said that the ambassador of the Islamic
00:03:19to inform
00:03:22them of the condemnation of this attack. On
00:03:26this side, in Saudi Arabia and also in Yemen, tensions
00:03:30have escalated. What is the latest from that region?
00:03:33That's right, the attacks are still ongoing. A few hours ago, the Saudi
00:03:37Civil Aviation Authority said that they
00:03:40intercepted a ballistic missile
00:03:43that was fired towards the city of Khamis Mushayt
00:03:47in southwestern Saudi Arabia and destroyed it. Last
00:03:51night, King Fahd International Airport
00:03:54in Dammam was also attacked.
00:03:57The death toll from the Riyadh airport attack,
00:04:00which occurred on Saturday, has
00:04:03reached 14 people, and more than 300 people were injured.
00:04:07There have been many reactions from various countries, from China
00:04:11to Australia. Turkey has condemned it and said that it
00:04:14stands with Saudi Arabia. On the other side,
00:04:18Anwar Gargash, advisor to the President of the United
00:04:21Arab Emirates, has condemned these attacks and said
00:04:25that instability in Saudi Arabia will affect
00:04:28all countries in the Persian Gulf. He said it is a
00:04:32collective responsibility to end this issue.
00:04:36Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, has also spoken
00:04:39by phone with his Saudi counterpart and offered that Iran can
00:04:43mediate between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. But
00:04:46all these events have greatly disrupted Saudi
00:04:49airports, right? We constantly read
00:04:53in news agencies that flights are severely disrupted.
00:04:57The number of flights has decreased significantly. Satellite images
00:05:00or Flightradar24 show that if we look, we see
00:05:04very few planes over the map of Saudi Arabia. This is
00:05:08due to the increased tension. Riyadh
00:05:11airport is closed. The US Federal Aviation
00:05:15Administration has warned airlines to be cautious when flying
00:05:19over that region towards Saudi Arabia or passing
00:05:22through it. This warning continues until December
00:05:2510th. The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia also
00:05:28said on Monday that American personnel must
00:05:31obtain permission before using any of these airports
00:05:35in Saudi Arabia. On the other
00:05:38hand, an energy conference is also being held
00:05:41in Saudi Arabia near Riyadh, which has
00:05:45also had consequences. BP has withdrawn from attending
00:05:49it, and the Financial Times reported that three other
00:05:53companies that were supposed to participate in this conference
00:05:57have also withdrawn due to the existing tension.
00:06:00On this side, however, in the Strait of Hormuz,
00:06:03it seems that Iran and the US are still trying to
00:06:07continue diplomacy, right? Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary
00:06:11of the Supreme National Security Council, said that the US's
00:06:15response to Iran's seven proposals was insufficient
00:06:18and that the US must resolve the remaining ambiguities.
00:06:20Today, the spokesman for the Foreign
00:06:24Ministry, Ismail Baghaei, also spoke and said
00:06:28that Iran is still reviewing the US's response
00:06:31and may provide it to the US through mediators in the coming
00:06:35days. Of course, he said that contacts between
00:06:38Iran and the US are still being exchanged through mediators.
00:07:12Attacking civilian targets in a war is perhaps
00:07:16the easiest way to
00:07:18create fear and terror in a country. Saudi
00:07:22Arabia may have military superiority and be able to
00:07:26protect its bases and main military centers, but
00:07:29civilian targets such as airports,
00:07:32oil refineries, and other industrial
00:07:35centers are targets that are less than 100%
00:07:39defensible. Therefore, it is difficult
00:07:42for Saudi Arabia to fully defend
00:07:46these bases and airports.
00:07:49But the reality is that Saudi Arabia is now
00:07:52more inclined to form a broader coalition
00:07:56against the Houthis and its strategic interests.
00:07:59And here it's
00:08:03about how much its allies might
00:08:07want to enter the war, not just support
00:08:11it. The main
00:08:18allies of Saudi Arabia are Pakistan and Turkey.
00:08:21Pakistan has practically said that
00:08:24it is ready to help Saudi Arabia defend
00:08:28itself as much as possible within Saudi Arabia.
00:08:32But Turkey has explicitly stated that it does not
00:08:35want to send military forces and fundamentally
00:08:39does not want to directly intervene in the war
00:08:44send air defense forces and be
00:08:48able to help Saudi Arabia be more protected
00:08:51from Houthi attacks. But the reality is that
00:08:54the coalition of Turkey and Saudi Arabia
00:08:57is a coalition that still hasn't been able
00:09:01to protect Saudi Arabia as it should.
00:09:04The only solution Saudi Arabia has is to
00:09:08turn to Israel and collaborate with Israel
00:09:11on security. Only then can Saudi Arabia perhaps
00:09:15defend itself better. How
00:09:17do you see Iran's role? Today, Abbas
00:09:21Araghchi said that he is ready to mediate
00:09:25between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Do you think that Iran
00:09:28even wants to stop the Houthis or can it even
00:09:32do so? Well, the main source of the Houthis is Iran
00:09:35itself. Naturally, if Iran wants to, it can stop the Houthis,
00:09:39but the reality is that it is Iran that encourages
00:09:42them, incites them, arms
00:09:45them, and guides them to cause trouble
00:09:49for Saudi Arabia. But we must also keep in mind
00:09:52that even in the 1960s, between Saudi Arabia
00:09:55and that part of Yemen that was then called
00:09:59North Yemen,
00:10:02there was first support,
00:10:05then disagreement, and then these
00:10:09tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen without Iran's
00:10:15involvement. Even without Iran's involvement. But in recent
00:10:18years, after the tension between Saudi Arabia
00:10:21and Iran, which is and strategic in the region,
00:10:55the problems that Saudi Arabia had with northern Yemen
00:10:58and with various forces
00:11:01in Yemen also existed
00:11:05without Iran's involvement. Thank you very much,
00:11:09Abdullah Hejab, Middle
00:11:10East affairs analyst.
00:11:17The Planning and Budget Organization of Iran
00:11:21announced today in a statement that around 40 million
00:11:28people have been asked to increase the amount. Of course,
00:11:32it has faced many problems
00:11:35and encountered difficulties. An action that many say
00:11:39is not commensurate with inflation. This is
00:11:42Fatemeh Mohajerani's explanation, the government spokesperson.
00:11:45For Mehr, which will hopefully increase, has not yet
00:11:48been finalized. I think it will be around
00:11:52500,000 Tomans, but it's not final yet.
00:12:01It is not clear whether the increased amount will
00:12:05be in cash or food stamps, an issue that
00:12:08is one of the disagreements between the parliament and the government.
00:12:12The government has not been able to settle
00:12:15the accounts of some shopkeepers who sell food stamp
00:12:19items. Let's hear from two shopkeepers in Iran.
00:12:2223 billion goods. The government is not
00:12:25depositing money into our accounts. It's been
00:12:28almost 25 days. Almost 2 billion
00:12:32Tomans of my money has not been deposited into my account,
00:12:36and I cannot replace the goods I gave to people
00:12:39because the exchange rate has increased and goods
00:12:43have become expensive. Why should the government do something
00:12:46to take goods
00:12:48from me as a wholesaler and give them to people?
00:12:51With these conditions, it is not clear where
00:12:55the financial resources for the new increase will come
00:12:58from. Mr. Ghaibi, an economic journalist, is here in the studio
00:13:02with me. Welcome, Mr. Ghaibi. Let's start with this
00:13:05plan that the government has put forward. We know
00:13:09that the system it introduced
00:13:11has also faced problems. People cannot
00:13:15register in it and fill out this form. There
00:13:18are many ambiguities. What does the government really
00:13:21want to do? Besides, many people say
00:13:25that this method they are pursuing
00:13:28is not fair at all. Yes,
00:13:30look, regarding its fairness, let's
00:13:34go back to your last question. When
00:13:37you come and pay 30 to 50 percent
00:13:41of the subsidy or the same food stamp,
00:13:44and it specifically includes specific
00:13:48goods in a specific store in the field
00:13:50of food, and we go back to
00:13:54the statistics of the Central Bank and the
00:13:57Statistical Center, and we see that the inflation
00:14:01of basic food items is more than 120,
00:14:04and between 120 and 1300. That is,
00:14:07you have created a 130-point pressure,
00:14:11and now you want to compensate for
00:14:1530 to 50 percent of it with
00:14:18a favor and with media propaganda.
00:14:21This is exactly the point you mentioned.
00:14:25The same goes for registration. In today's
00:14:27Iran, let's not forget that many of those
00:14:31who today need to strengthen their
00:14:35livelihoods are families in deprived
00:14:37areas who do not have access to the
00:14:41Internet or are in middle and old age and
00:14:45do not have Internet and digital literacy,
00:14:48and basically cannot register. Let's
00:14:52put this aside. The Islamic Republic is
00:14:56implementing a project solely for the purpose
00:14:59of advancing its media propaganda. But
00:15:03anyway, it intends to deposit
00:15:06about 500,000 Tomans to this group, as
00:15:10the government spokesperson said. Now, this
00:15:14is also a question whether it will be
00:15:17in cash or food stamps. But on the other
00:15:21hand, we see that the government cannot
00:15:29even settle with some shopkeepers right now.
00:15:32In these circumstances, where the government
00:15:36has repeatedly said it has no money,
00:15:40one of the criticisms is perhaps the
00:15:43funding of this plan. Regarding the
00:15:47issue raised for increasing expenses,
00:15:49that is, the payment of food stamps, the
00:15:53resources allocated for it are based
00:15:56on the approved law, which includes the
00:16:00increase in the preferential exchange rate, which
00:16:03leads to an increase in the price
00:16:07of medicine and many basic goods, including
00:16:10oil and rice, and other goods.
00:16:13Also, the price of bread has
00:16:17increased. Let's also
00:16:20consider this. When you or the Islamic
00:16:23Republic implement a system, a law, and gasoline,
00:16:27of course, which is imposing
00:16:30a double inflation on the people,
00:16:34and you only want to pay less
00:16:38than half of it to half of the
00:16:41people with a favor. This is
00:16:44very, very, no, completely unfair.
00:16:47The payment comes from these sources,
00:16:51from the increase in gasoline prices,
00:16:54the increase in the preferential exchange rate,
00:16:57and other issues that have been considered.
00:17:01But the main point is that the
00:17:04government is already struggling to meet
00:17:32the country's basic needs, to provide the necessary
00:17:35budget for running the country, for
00:17:39a thousand and one reasons, one of which
00:17:42may be confronting the US and naval blockade,
00:17:46but we should not forget the problems.
00:17:48The main disagreement is between these
00:17:52two. The parliament has an argument
00:17:55about the method of payment, and that when you add
00:17:59a number, a number that is weak,
00:18:02in a specific place, for a specific product,
00:18:06it does not necessarily lead to an
00:18:10increase in purchasing power. If you pay
00:18:14this money in cash, that person
00:18:17might have rent problems
00:18:21this month, not food problems. They
00:18:24might want to use this month's subsidy
00:18:27for rent and healthcare. But
00:18:31the government has specifically limited
00:18:35this to a few limited items
00:18:38and in limited places. The disagreement is about this.
00:18:42And there are many discussions
00:18:45behind it, and in the
00:18:47end, the government will proceed
00:18:51with its own plan, and the
00:18:54parliament will cooperate, because basically,
00:18:58there is no room for disagreement
00:19:02between the government and the parliament
00:19:05because there are so many problems
00:19:09that in the end, they will be aligned
00:19:12in implementing their own plan. If
00:19:15you can tell us very briefly,
00:19:19does this plan itself not create
00:19:22inflation? The issue of inflation, no,
00:19:26look, there is a hidden circulation
00:19:30that the government is implementing to
00:19:34strengthen people's purchasing power,
00:19:38but the point
00:19:38I mentioned is that
00:19:43it itself has reduced people's purchasing
00:19:46power by half, and now it wants
00:19:50to compensate for 20-30% of it,
00:19:53and since no new money is being injected,
00:19:57and as the report you broadcast said,
00:20:01the government basically doesn't even have
00:20:05money to pay its debt to the
00:20:16system. The inflation that is created
00:20:19is not so much that it will
00:20:23have an impact on the economy
00:20:26with this amount of inflation caused by
00:20:30money creation, caused by naval blockade
00:20:34and other problems. That is, its
00:20:37inflation will be very insignificant
00:20:41compared to other dimensions that we
00:20:44have in the economy. Thank you, Reza
00:20:48Ghaibi, economic reporter here in the studio
00:20:52with us. Now let's hear a few
00:20:55short news items and then
00:20:59we'll be back. Iran's judiciary
00:21:03says it has executed one person
00:21:07for collaborating with Jaish al-Adl.
00:21:10Iranian security and judicial
00:21:14bodies claim that Omar Durstani
00:21:18was providing
00:21:24ammunition and weapons for this armed
00:21:27Baloch movement and was identifying military
00:21:31bases. In separate news, Iranian police
00:21:34announced that members of a team involved
00:21:38in recent attacks on law enforcement
00:21:41centers in Sistan province.
00:21:44Following his dismissal and the local government's
00:21:47declaration of a state of emergency by Islamabad,
00:21:51Afridi and members of his government from
00:21:55the Tehrik-e-Insaf party led by Imran
00:21:59Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan,
00:22:02who is currently imprisoned, have been arrested.
00:22:06He had organized a protest rally
00:22:09for Imran Khan's release. The Tehrik-e-Insaf
00:22:13party called the declaration of a state of
00:22:17emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a coup.
00:22:20Islamabad, however, claims that it
00:22:23dissolved the local government due to
00:22:27its inability to control armed
00:22:31anti-government groups. Despite Donald Trump's
00:22:34statements about stopping the mutual attacks
00:22:37of Russia and Ukraine on each
00:22:41other's energy infrastructure, Kyiv says that the
00:22:44Kremlin has continued its attacks. According
00:22:48to Ukraine's oil and gas company, Russian
00:22:52night attacks on gas production facilities
00:22:55in Kharkiv caused fires and damage
00:22:58to equipment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
00:23:02emphasized that the US should pressure Russia,
00:23:06not reduce its sanctions and give
00:23:09concessions to Moscow. He said an energy
00:23:12ceasefire could
00:23:14be a step towards ending the war,
00:23:18but only if the US ensures that
00:23:22Russia will adhere to it.
00:23:25That was some brief news, and
00:23:28now let's turn to another issue
00:23:32in Iran. After several confirmations and
00:23:36denials, the news of the closure
00:23:39of two sports complexes, Enghelab
00:23:42and Keshvari, due to non-observance
00:23:46of hijab, these two stadiums resumed
00:23:50their activities today. The company for
00:23:54the development and maintenance of sports
00:23:57facilities had announced their closure yesterday,
00:24:00citing the necessity of implementing religious
00:24:03regulations, but the Ministry of Sports
00:24:07denied this decision. Last week, the
00:24:11Iranian Women's Muay Thai Championship
00:24:15in Qom was canceled after a
00:24:18protest gathering by a group of individuals
00:24:22and chanting slogans and throwing stones.
00:24:25The mayor of Qom reacted today to
00:24:28the repercussions of this event, saying
00:24:32that by publishing incomplete images
00:24:35and narratives, the ground for "Qomophobia"
00:24:38and tarnishing the reputation of this
00:24:42city should not be provided. Two
00:24:44events, within a week, once
00:24:48again highlight social restrictions and
00:24:52the controversy over women's presence in
00:24:55Iranian sports, becoming a news-making topic.
00:24:59Saeideh Fathi, sports reporter from Vienna,
00:25:03Austria, is with us to discuss
00:25:06further. Welcome, Ms. Fathi. Let's
00:25:10start with this news of
00:25:13the closure of Enghelab Sports Complex.
00:25:17Can the company for the development
00:25:21of sports facilities even decide on behalf
00:25:25of the Ministry of Sports? They
00:25:28had ordered the closure of these
00:25:32two complexes. With greetings,
00:25:36unfortunately, we are now experiencing
00:25:39conditions in Iran where a specific
00:25:42organization seems to have no
00:25:45responsibility. That is, one group
00:25:49issues a permit, but another group
00:25:52can come and revoke that permit.
00:25:56And we see this happening
00:26:00at various times,
00:26:07and in various situations. The same
00:26:10incidents you mentioned, and this story
00:26:14of canceling the Enghelab complex,
00:26:17women's presence, and their closure,
00:26:21all stem from the fact that
00:26:24they have permits. That is, the
00:26:28Muay Thai competitions were held with
00:26:32the official permission
00:26:39of the Ministry of Sports and
00:26:42the Qom Municipality itself was the
00:26:46organizer of the competitions. But
00:26:48unfortunately, we see that a
00:26:52group, an organization, an institution,
00:26:56acts against the permit that has
00:26:59been issued, and no one holds
00:27:03that institution accountable for why they
00:27:07are interfering with this event, with
00:27:10this place that has a permit.
00:27:14And unfortunately, we see that