Tough time for Iran. It is (1) hit by, and I suggest the real target of, the Saudi oil price war; (2) hit by a very odd and high mortality rate Coronavirus outbreak in the upper reaches of government and almost certainly more widespread in the general population than admitted; (3) watching its Chinese oil market diminish as a result of that country’s production and shipping hit; (4) humiliated by the shootdown of the Ukrainian airliner; (5) crippled by the messy death of its best terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani; (6) beset by rioting in the streets from a young population that has had enough of the mullahs. If that government falls things get very interesting very fast.
Yep.
Embassies close in North Korea as diplomats evacuated over virus
Several embassies in North Korea closed Monday as many diplomats were flown out following weeks of tight quarantine ...
AFP on MSN.com3d
Iran sentences accused CIA spy to death and two others to prison, by Madison Dibble, February 04, 2020 09:10 AM
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Iran ordered one person to die and two others to spend time in prison after accusing the trio of working for the Central Intelligence Agency to reveal state secrets.
The Supreme Court of Iran confirmed the death sentence of Amir Rahimpour on Tuesday after the state alleged that Rahimpour was spying on behalf of the United States. Iran accused Rahimpour of attempting to pass information about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program...../snip