Reuters – A man grabs a dog by the ears and bashes it against the side of a pickup truck in a rural area of northern Iran. As the dog tries to find shelter in the back of the truck, the man beats it with a shovel. By Babak Dehghanpisheh | BEIRUT When the video was posted online, it rocketed …

Al-monitor – An Iranian delegation is heading to South America in hopes of capitalizing on the economic potential after the nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted Aug. 17 that an Iranian delegation will travel to six Latin America countries in order to “strengthen political and economic ties.” This will be …

Al-monitor  — Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, hosted the presidents of Iran and Russia on Aug. 8 for the first trilateral summit of the three countries. The three leaders reached agreements on a range of issues, from efforts to pave the way for the development of the North-South Transit Corridor, to coordinating their fight against terrorism and extremism. AUTHOR Hamidreza …

screendaily – His new film Monte to be screened out of competition. Iranian director Amir Naderi (Vegas, Manhattan by Numbers) is to receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival(August 31-Sept 10), dedicated to a personality who has made an original contribution to innovation in contemporary cinema. The prize has previously been awarded to …

RFL/RE – Kimia Alizadeh became the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal on August 18 after beating a Swedish opponent to earn a bronze in taekwondo. Alizadeh, 18, who fights wearing a head-covering under her head-guard, beat Nikita Glasnovic of Sweden 5-1 in the under-57 kilogram division. “I am so happy for Iranian girls because it is the …

RFL/RE – The U.S. State Department said it released $400 million in cash to Iran under a court settlement in January only after it was assured that American prisoners had been freed by Tehran. It was the first public acknowledgement of a link between the cash payment and Iran’s release of prisoners on January 17. But the Obama administration portrayed …

RFL/RE – Russia’s use of Iranian territory to launch air strikes in Syria this week has sparked cautious debate in Iran, where open discussions of sensitive foreign policy issues are rare and perceived affronts to national sovereignty could weigh heavily on a regime founded on promises to kick out foreign meddlers. Iranian officials have said that the unprecedented move, which deepens …

INU – Last week, the US State Department released its annual religious freedom report and once again highlighted the ongoing persecution of minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The report was mentioned on Monday by the Pakistani news network Baaghi TV, in the context of a brief article detailing the Iranian government’s rejection of the State Department conclusions. As …

dailycaller – As many as 80,000 Iranian-backed militia are currently fighting Islamic State in Iraq, according to a U.S. Army spokesman. Col. Christopher Garver, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed to Fox News that of the 100,000 Shiite militia fighters operating in Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), 80 percent are backed directly by the Islamic Republic of Iran. “The [Iranian-backed] …

washingtonexaminer – Iran is expected to indict a detained U.S. citizen on charges of acting against the country’s national security interests, according to a Foreign Desk report late Wednesday. The Iranian government claims Gholamreza Shahini, 46, participated in the 2009 Green Revolution and worked with the Voice of America news outlet in order to undermine the government. The State Department would …