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Is the Iran-Turkey Gas Deal an Empty Promise?
Energy

Is the Iran-Turkey Gas Deal an Empty Promise?

Marred by a troubled history of supply disruption, the deal Iran signed last year to export gas to its neighbour Turkey may not be possible to realise.Iranian and Turkish officials announced last July a plan to increase Iran’s gas exports from Iran to Turkey. The announcement was made after the Turk

Is the Iran-Russia “$40-Billion Energy Agreement” Realistic?
Energy

Is the Iran-Russia “$40-Billion Energy Agreement” Realistic?

The $40-billion agreement last year between the National Iranian Oil Company and Russia’s Gazprom may not be the agreement the Iranian government is hoping for to revamp its investment-needy energy sector.In November 2021, local media quoted Oil Minister Javad Oji as stressing that Iran's oil and ga

A Look at Iran’s Unaccounted-For LPG Revenues
Energy

A Look at Iran’s Unaccounted-For LPG Revenues

In a recent speech at the Iranian Association of Chemical Engineering, Malek Shariati Niasar, an MP and a member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Commission, criticised the lack of accountability for the sale of LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) in Iran. He complained that the National Iranian Oil Ref

Iran’s Government Spends Billions on its Prisons Each Year
Budget and Government Spending

Iran’s Government Spends Billions on its Prisons Each Year

The tens of thousands of arrests that followed the widespread protests that erupted in Iran last September following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died while in Morality Police custody have brought public attention to the Iranian General Directorate of Prisons, which admi

How Much Does the Islamic Republic Spend on Iran’s Morality Police?
Budget and Government Spending

How Much Does the Islamic Republic Spend on Iran’s Morality Police?

Following the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, at the hands of Iran’s Morality Police, protesters in Iran are publically calling for the controversial police unit to be disbanded. But where does the Morality Police’s funding come from, and how much does it cost the countr

Iran’s Government Spends Millions of Dollars on Annual Arba’een Parades
Budget and Government Spending

Iran’s Government Spends Millions of Dollars on Annual Arba’een Parades

Iran Open Data’s research shows that in 2022, at least 1.42 trillion Tomans (about $26 million, at the exchange rate of 52,650 Tomans/$1) from the government’s general budget is spent on holding the Arba’een parade. This number is twice the budget allocation for Providing for Housing Development Inf

Dating in Iran: Poll Shows High Rate of Romantic Relationships
Art and Culture and Tourism

Dating in Iran: Poll Shows High Rate of Romantic Relationships

About 85% of women and 79% of men stated that they were in a romantic relationship, an Iran Open Data poll shows. According to the results of this poll, parents are more opposed to their daughters having a romantic relationship than to their sons having one. Also, more women than men said they would

Home Buying by Iranians in Turkey Hits Record High
Housing

Home Buying by Iranians in Turkey Hits Record High

The purchasing of homes by Iranians in Turkey has now reached one-seventh of the total number of housing purchases in Tehran. Analysis of data from the Turkish Statistical Center and the Iranian Central Bank of data shows that for every 7 houses traded in Tehran, Iranians buy one house in Turkey.Fro

Will Iran become an important player in the global ‘Energy Transition’?
Energy

Will Iran become an important player in the global ‘Energy Transition’?

One of the key characteristics of the Iranian regime for the past four decades has been its fondness for crisis management. The Islamic Republic seems to thrive on wrestling with crises rather than planning for the future. In fact, the Iranian Government’s planning department was shut down for many