Iranhumanrights.org – A Christian and four Christian converts were arrested on August 26, 2016 by the Intelligence Ministry near Tehran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. “The five individuals and their wives were having a picnic in Firoozkooh [90 miles east of Tehran] when Intelligence Ministry agents entered the private garden. The arrested individuals were not …

lobelog – By outward appearances, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the ex-terrorist Iranian opposition group hell-bent on regime change, appears to be losing their influence in the media. The group’s allegations about Iran’s nuclear program are met with increased skepticism after, for example, photographic evidence of “Lavizan-3,” a secret uranium enrichment facility in suburban Tehran, was revealed to be a stock photo …

PayvandNews – Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the Islamic Republic will begin the construction of two nuclear power plants in cooperation with Russia within the next few days. “Operations to build two new nuclear power plants in Bushehr will start on September 10,” Ali Akbar Salehi said late Wednesday, adding that it will take 10 …

PayvandNews – The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran considers development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including nuclear and chemical weapons, as redline for its defense program. Source: Tehran Times The Leader made the remarks addressing a group of top officials and specialists of Iran’s Ministry of Defense after touring an exhibition of the …

PayvandNews – The European Union’s trade with Iran amounted to 5.107 billion Euros in the first half of 2016, a 43 percent rise year on year, based on the latest figures released by the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat. Following the implementation of the nuclear deal in January and thanks to the rise in EU countries’ purchase of oil from …

Reuters – The United States and its negotiating partners agreed “in secret” to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year’s landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a report reviewed by Reuters. By Jonathan Landay The report is to be published on Thursday by the …

WSJ — British Airways plans to resume flights to Tehran Thursday evening, the latest restored link between the West and Iran since the lifting of nuclear sanctions in January. A Boeing 777 wide-body jetliner is scheduled to take off from London around 9 p.m., bound for Tehran, the first flight into Iran by the airline since 2012. It suspended service …

RFL/RE – The United States has carried out its part of the Iranian nuclear deal, but unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran have remained in place and are a “big hindrance” for Tehran, a top Russian diplomat told TASS. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who is visiting Tehran, told TASS on August 31 that the U.S. administration has implemented “from …

RFL/RE – Iran says it arrested an Iranian-American dual citizen in late July on charges of plotting against national security and collaborating with hostile governments. Mizan Online, the judiciary news agency, said on August 31 that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps arrested the person in the province of Golestan. The report, which did not name the suspect, appeared to be …

RFL/RE – Iranian state media reports say a retired Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general has been killed while battling against Islamic militants in northern Syria. The Fars news agency, which is closely affiliated with the IRGC, reported on August 31 that General Ahmad Gholami was killed on August 30 while fighting against Sunni militants in Aleppo. The report did …