Iranhumanrights.org – In an open letter from Evin Prison prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi has strongly rejected the Appeals Court’s decision upholding her harsh prison sentence, describing it as a “tyrannical” way to silence her activism. “I am a 44-year-old woman condemned to 22 years in prison by the Islamic Republic of Iran and I know very well that …

Iranhumanrights.org – Despite statements from some Iranian officials doubting the value of capital punishment, no action has been taken to end or reduce the high number of executions in the country, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Unfortunately, for years Iran’s judicial officials have repeated statements in response to protests by the …

Iranhumanrights.org – An attorney has been arrested in western Iran for wearing a T-shirt honoring the Green Movement, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Mohammad Najafi was arrested on October 11 [2016] in Shazand, Markazi Province, by agents of the Intelligence Ministry for appearing in public with a T-shirt that had ‘Ashura 88’ printed …

PayvanNews – Iran has sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen, where the United States conducted missile attacks. The announcement came after the U.S. military launched cruise-missile strikes to knock out radar sites in Yemen controlled by Iran-allied Huthi forces, after failed missile attacks this week on a U.S. Navy destroyer. Iranian warships Alvand (file …

PayvandNews – Moscow has reportedly concluded the supply of the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems to Iran. Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) as making the announcement on Thursday. “All divisions have been supplied,” said FSVTS Director Alexander Fomin. Russian-made S-300 missile defense system during a military parade in Tehran in April 2016. …

Guardian – Militias controlled by Tehran are poised to complete a land corridor that would give Iran huge power in the region Not far from Mosul, a large military force is finalising plans for an advance that has been more than three decades in the making. The troops are Shia militiamen who have fought against the Islamic State, but they …

RFL/RE – Top U.S. officials are charging that Iran supplied Yemeni rebels with the missiles that were aimed at a U.S. Navy warship in several attacks this week. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who was briefed by the Pentagon on the three failed missile attacks on the USS Mason destroyer, said on October 13 that Iran likely provided …

Al-monitor – Repeated concert cancellations over the past year have turned into a real headache for moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who in his 2013 election campaign pledged that he would address cultural issues. AUTHOR Rohollah Faghihi In August, Mashhad’s ultra-conservative Friday prayer leader, Ahmad Alamolhoda, defied the Rouhani administration as he prevented singers from performing in the holy city. Amid …

Iranhumanrights.org – A few months after the Iranian government launched the first phase of its “national information network” (NIN), many questions still surround Iran’s domestically hosted, state-controlled and censored internet. In this article, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran discusses ten critical questions about NIN, the country’s most expensive internet-related project. Progress on NIN reflects the continuation of …

Iranhumanrights.org – The execution order against Zeinab Sekaanvand Lankarani, who was married off at 15-years-old to the man she allegedly killed two years later, is being challenged by her public defender. Lankarani, imprisoned at Urmia Central Prison in northwestern Iran, is accused of killing her husband when she was 17 years old. “Zeinab admitted to the murder while she was …