RFL/RE – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says U.S. President-elect Donald Trump should remain committed to the nuclear deal signed between world powers and Tehran. During his campaign, Trump had pledged to “tear up” the nuclear agreement, which he called “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated.” “Every U.S. president has to understand the realities of today’s …

Iran Human Rights – Official Iranian media, including ISNA, have reported on a blinding punishment sentence carried out on Tuesady November 8 in one of the prisons near Tehran. Iranian authorities blinded both of the eyes of a man from Qorveh (Kurdistan province), identified as “Mohammad Reza”, for allegedly throwing lime into the face of his four-year-old niece in the …

Amnesty – Amnesty International and renowned Iranian music band Kiosk are calling on artists and members of the public around the world to join a #FreeArtists campaign to demand that Iran immediately and unconditionally release jailed artists, including a musician and a filmmaker who are on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison. The brothers, musician Mehdi Rajabian and filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, are …

Iranhumanrights.org – Ali Shariati, who was imprisoned in 2015 for participating in a demonstration in front of Parliament against acid attacks on women, has gone on hunger strike “in protest against his forced return to prison to serve a sentence that has no legal basis,” said his mother, Shayesteh-ol-Sadat Shahidi. “My son has always been a supporter of [President Hassan Rouhani’s] …

Al-monitor – Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani’s latest remarks on freedom of the press in Iran featured on almost every front page in the country Nov. 8, and heated the debate that emerged with the opening of the Press Exhibition in Tehran on Nov. 4. . AUTHOR Changiz M. Varzi “Some pressure us by asking, ‘Why don’t you shut down …

PayvandNews – Iranian researchers at Sharif University of Technology won the top prize of innovations competition at the 8th International Conference on Social Robotics, Kansas City, US. The project ‘Abrbot’ which is a robot for educating and informing children on optimal water usage won the Best Robot Design at the 8th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2016) that was …

IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS –  Two prisoners are scheduled to be executed in the coming days at Qorve prison in the Iranian Kurdistan province. The prisoners have met with their families for the last time and have been transferred to solitary confinement prior to the execution, according to reports by Iran Human Rights (IHR) sources. The prisoners are identified as Mohammad Rasoul …

Al-monitor – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi announced that the legal process for opening a European Union office in Tehran remains ongoing, but his own ministry’s spokesman denied the report. In a Nov. 6 interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency, Takht-Ravanchi said that with improving relations with the EU, “It is now crucial to open the EU office in the …

Al-montor — Iranian hard-liners have launched a new attack on the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, this time focusing on the country’s automotive industry. At an Oct. 25 parliamentary hearing, the Industries and Mines Committee grilled Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh over a deal he made last month with the French automaker Renault. Nematzadeh also came under fire over a controversial decision that …

RFL/RE – The Caspian seabed contains some of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world. And if one adds the hydrocarbon wealth present onshore in the Caspian littoral countries — Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Russia — the volumes are staggering. However, to send energy resources from the Caspian Basin to world markets requires cooperation and …