Iran’s forex reserves declines by $10b in currency crash

According to the Aftabnews website, following the slump in the value of rial against dollar, the central bank has injected 10 billion dollars into the domestic foreign currency market to curb the rise in the value of dollar. The report raises concern over the repercussions of the move on the country’s economic security, because the foreign currency reserve is a reliable tool for the central bank to retain the value of the national currency and regulate the imports and exports in order to maintain the economic stability.
Few influential traders behind gold market closure: Kayhan
The high-profile managing director of the daily ‘Kayhan’, Hossein Shariatmadari, has commented that a few major gold dealers are behind the closure of the gold market following the enforcement of the value-added tax. Shariatmadari has said that 90 percent of the gold which is brought into the country is smuggled by few well-connected traders. He believes that these traders are not worried about paying more tax, but they are afraid of transparency in the gold market, so they have incited minor gold dealers to close their stores ostensibly in protest at the implementation of VAT.
MP says opposition should not claim reformism leadership
Moderate pro-reform MP Mostafa Kavakebian has said Mohammad Khatami and Mir-Hossein Mousavi can not claim that they are leaders of reformists. The MP has said the fact that the reformist parties have supported Mousavi and Khatami during the elections does not mean that these two figures are reformists’ leaders. The MP has also asserted that reformists are loyal to the Islamic system, so the ‘green movement’ can not be considered a reformist group.
Nateq-Nouri cites reasons for not attending clerical meetings
Former Majlis Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri has announced that he does not attend the meetings of the principlist Combatant Clergy Association in protest at the association’s policies. It seems that Nateq-Nouri feels slighted as the principlists failed to back him when he was attacked by Ahmadinejad during his campaign for the June 2009 presidential election.