PayvandNews – More than 5,700 Iranian artists issued an appeal to President Hassan Rouhani urging him to take serious measures to address air pollution in the country. A view of the capital city Tehran covered in tick smog The supreme council of the Iranian Artists Forum, comprising photographers, graphic designers, painters, sculptors, calligraphers, potters, and actors signed a letter to …

VOA – Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday became the first foreign minister to meet Lebanon’s new president, a move that underscored Tehran’s tussle for influence in Beirut with its regional arch rival Saudi Arabia. A Christian leader and close ally of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah who was elected president last week, Aoun also met an envoy sent …

dailystar – Iran will sign a deal with France’s Total Tuesday for the development of gas production at a major offshore field in the Gulf, the Iranian oil ministry said. The Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the development of Phase 11 of the important South Pars field is worth $6 billion, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

Al-monitor – Saudi Arabia is losing influence throughout the Fertile Crescent to its rival Iran. While Riyadh’s position versus Tehran has been in decline for some time, the trend is accelerating. Saudi setbacks are partly due to factors outside its control, but also due to inherent weaknesses in Saudi capacities. AUTHOR Bruce Riedel The kingdom has had a friendly regime …

Reuters – Iran has reached a deal with a foreign leasing company to finance the first 17 jets it plans to buy from Airbus (AIR.PA), breaking a logjam in efforts to import aircraft following the lifting of sanctions, people familiar with the move said. The deal removes a significant hurdle to securing the first tranche of jets, following uncertainty over …

Radiozamaneh – Saeed Toosi, a Quran teacher and Iran’s top Quran reciter has denied allegations that he has sexually abused at least 4 children that were put under his care as students. Saeed Toosi with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran Islamic republic state media reported on Sunday 6 Nov that Toosi has denied all allegations of sexual abuse of …

alarabiya -While Washington does not regard Tehran’s “Death to America” slogan as an official Iranian policy, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Thursday that the US still views the Islamic republic’s behavior in the region as “not positive.” Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” in the capital Tehran on Thursday, marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of …

HRANA News Agency – After releasing ten people of at least 15 people detained in the rally by Mohammad Ali Taheri’s supporters in front of Baqiatullah Hospital, five people remain in the “Vozara Building” in detention. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), despite issuance of a bail and showing payslips by the families, …

Iran Human Rights – On Saturday November 5, Iranian authorities reportedly executed at least five prisoners. A prisoner with murder charges and two prisoners with drug-related charges were executed at Lakan Prison in Rasht (Gilan province, northern Iran), and two prisoners with drug-related charges were executed at Parsilon Prison in Khorramabad (Lorestan province, western Iran). A report by the state-run …

Iranhumanrights.org – Imprisoned music distributor Mehdi Rajabian, who is currently on hunger strike with his brother Hossein Rajabian, has refused hospital treatment for his deteriorating health. The Rajabians were previously tricked into ending their hunger strike before there demands were met. On November 2, 2016, five days after starting the hunger strike, “Mehdi got sick and went to [Evin Prison’s] …