PayyvandNews – Iran says it will soon launch a cooperation scheme with France’s aviation giant Airbus over the production of spare parts for planes – a move that could help the company get a stronger foothold in the Iranian market once a much-awaited agreement to sell planes to the country becomes effective. Airbus A380 Manouchehr Manteqi, a top official from …

Al-Arabia – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would discuss with Donald Trump the West’s “bad” nuclear deal with Iran after the US president-elect enters the White House. Speaking separately to a conference in Washington, Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry clashed over the Iran deal and Israel’s settlement construction on the occupied West Bank, …

HRANA – On the anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, The Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran publishes an annual report on executions in Iran. This report is intended to provide visibility to the dire situation where thousands of people are awaiting execution. The present report concerns the individuals executed in the one year …

Iran Human Rights –  The death sentence for Babak Zanjani, the prime suspect in a high profile financial corruption case, has been confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court. Gholamreza Ansari, a senior official at the Supreme Court, confirmed the news to the state-run news agency, Mizan. In regards to the two other defendants in the case, Mehdi Shams and Hamid Fallah Heravi, …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has urged U.S. President Barack Obama not to sign a 10-year extension of U.S. sanctions approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In a speech to Iran’s parliament on December 4, Rohani said the bill violates a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. On December 1, the U.S. Congress voted to extend the …

RFL/RE – Amnesty International has called on Iran to release “immediately and unconditionally” four individuals arrested on December 2 at a gathering marking the 18th anniversary of the killings of two prominent intellectuals. The two men were murdered by agents from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. Their deaths were part of a series of extrajudicial killings of Iranian dissidents and intellectuals, which …

PayvandNews – Alireza Rahmani, the director of public relations for the governor’s office in Qazvin, 89 miles (143 kms) northwest of Tehran, was arrested on November 29 for inviting friends online to support the release of imprisoned human rights activist Narges Mohammadi. Alireza Rahmani, Director in Qazvin Governor’s office He was released a few hours later after posting 15-million-tomans bail …

Al-Arabia – A US Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years shows the world that Washington cannot be relied upon to act on its commitments, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday. Iran has vowed to retaliate against the ISA extension, passed unanimously on Thursday, saying it violated last year’s agreement with six …

Al-monitor – The resignations of three cabinet ministers in October had raised hope among many women’s rights activists in Iran that President Hassan Rouhani would nominate at least one woman to one of the vacant positions. While Rouhani pledged to incorporate more women into his government during his 2013 presidential campaign, he has yet to fulfill this promise. AUTHOR Zahra …

Iranhumanrights.org – Karan Vafadari, an Iranian-American national belonging to the Zoroastrian faith, and his wife Afarin Niasari, have been in detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison without public charge or access to counsel since their arrest by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Organization agents three months ago, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. In a letter …