News in Brief
Iran’s electricity use hits record-high
FARS – Iran on Monday experienced a new peak in electricity consumption, reaching a staggering 72,419 megawatts. The figure is equivalent to the combined output of 72 power plants of the same magnitude as the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
In comparison to last year’s zenith of 69,951 megawatts, this year’s high represents a 3.5% increase in peak load.
Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said that although the country’s electricity grid remained stable, it was subjected to substantial pressure when the record-breaking surge in electricity consumption occurred.
Lawyer: Rapper death sentence revoked
The lawyer of Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi, who had received a primary death sentence for “provoking violence” during protests in Iran last year, said her client has been sentenced to six years and three months in prison for “corruption on earth.”
In an interview with Sharq, Roza Etemad Ansari said her client, “who was in solitary confinement, has been transferred to the general ward of the prison.”
Tasnim reported last week that Toomaj’s court ruling had been commuted to imprisonment. Tasnim said, based on the news received, Salehi’s sentence had been commuted because of his “active cooperation” with the authorities.
Iran urges ...
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He also emphasized that any new sanctions based on baseless claims are completely rejected and Iran reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action in a timely manner.
The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman also slammed the irresponsibility of the three European signatories to the agreement with Iran, saying they must be held accountable for failing to meet their own obligations under the deal, from which the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and left the future of the deal in limbo.
After the withdrawal from the agreement – also known as the Joint Comprehensive plan of Action (JCPOA) – Washington re-imposed sanctions against Tehran.
Multilateral diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA have been stalled since last August, with Iran blaming the United States for failing to guarantee that it will not leave the deal again.