Radiozamaneh – Iranian authorities reacted to UN condemnation of executions of prisoners convicted of trafficking drugs. The report from Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran referencing the execution of drug related convicts drew fire from International Affairs Deputy of Human Rights Headquarters of Iran’s Judiciary who described the report as politically biased and in service of …

While Iran has said it publicly supports the cease-fire in Syria brokered by the United States and Tehran’s ally, Russia, it is not party to the agreement. International observers say that in the long run, they do not see Tehran supporting a full-fledged truce. They predict Iran will continue to engage anti-Syrian-government forces on the battlefield. “Iran and its proxies …

Amnesty – Kamal Foroughi, a 77-year-old British-Iranian man jailed in Tehran’s Evin Prison, has developed cataracts in both his eyes. He may be at risk of losing his eyesight unless he is given access to adequate specialized medical treatment, including cataract surgery. View report in English https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1348152016ENGLISH.pdf

Iranhumanrights.org – Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe’s Sentence Announced Two Weeks Before Rouhani Comes to NY. The five-year prison sentence for Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, a dual citizen of Iran and the UK who has been inside Iranian prisons for the past five months, lacks any legal justification, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement today. The Campaign …

Al-monitor – Iranian officials and media have welcomed the Syrian cease-fire deal announced Sept. 9 by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, despite also expressing reservations and warnings. AUTHOR Arash Karami “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always welcomed a cease-fire in Syria and the facilitation of access to humanitarian help for all of …

Al-monitor – According to Islamic teachings, the hajj is the annual manifestation of Muslim unity. This is a common theme among Muslim scholars when describing the scene of millions of Muslim worshipers from around the world, all wearing plain white robes and performing the same rituals, despite their ethnic and sectarian differences. This grand, symbolic gesture of Islamic unity seems …

PayvandNews – “Parting”, an Afghan-Iranian joint production about love and migration, was submitted to the 89th Annual Academy Awards to represent Afghanistan in the best foreign language film category at the 2017 Oscars. Directed by Navid Mahmudi, the film is about teenage lovers Nabi and Fereshteh who are separated by her family’s flight from Afghanistan. After years apart, Nabi decides …

breitbart – On Friday, the remaining 280 members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) — also known as the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) — who were stationed in Camp Liberty (Hurriya) in Iraq were relocated to Albania, officially closing the camp which was a place of refuge for the dissidents against the Iranian regime since the 1980s. Albania has a history …

NBC — An intrepid group of women is riding the waves of change in deeply conservative Iran. by ALI AROUZI A woman’s testimony is considered half of a man’s in the country’s court. Buses are segregated by gender and it is illegal for women to attend men’s volleyball games for fear they will be corrupted by the sight of the …

RFL/RE – Saudi Arabia has launched a Persian-language satellite television channel broadcasting the hajj, following tensions with Iran over the annual pilgrimage. The 24-hour satellite channel will cover hajj rituals and prayers from the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Minister of Information and Culture Adel al-Turaifi said the channel targets “Persian-language speakers, whose number is estimated at 130 million all over …